NSA leak fallout: LIVE UPDATES

Former CIA employee Edward Snowden has carried out one of the biggest leaks in US history, exposing a top-secret NSA surveillance program to the media. Leading tech companies were revealed to be involved in intelligence gathering through PRISM spy tool.

RT has developed an interactive
map showing the countries being spied on, those aiding
the US in their surveillance operations.

Thursday, September 12

GMT 23:58: Edward Snowden’s leaks revealing mass data
collection by the National Security Agency “probably needed to
happen,” Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said
Thursday. Speaking at a conference in Washington, Clapper
acknowledged the revelations had sparked a needed debate that
“perhaps” should have happened earlier. Yet Clapper maintained he
was concerned about the disclosures’ “impact, frankly, on our
national security and the damage caused by these continuous
stream of revelations.”

Wednesday, September 11

GMT 23:52: Matthew Green, a cryptography professor at
Johns Hopkins University, was asked to remove a blog post he
wrote regarding the latest leak, which revealed that the NSA is
capable to subverting internet encryption. While university
administrators eventually allowed Green to re-post the article
onto school servers, the incident prompted more questions than it
gave answers. Green told RT he is unsure of where the take-down
request originated and jokingly gave advice to any future
cryptographers.

“Somebody somewhere made a decision that there might be
classified material on this blog. The instinct was to shut the
blog down rather than investigate that. I think that was a
mistake. I don’t think I’ll ever know exactly where that came
from and I hope it never happens again,” he said.

“Move down to the basement, buy a computer, and never, ever
use the internet. That’s the best advice I can give
you.”

Tuesday, September 10

GMT 21:02: A majority of Americans oppose the National
Security Agency’s data collection programs as well as the secret
federal court that has oversight over NSA surveillance, according
to a new poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public
Affairs Research.

Nearly 60 percent of those polled said they were uncomfortable
with the amount of telephone and Internet data collected by the
NSA. Fifty-three percent said the government does an adequate job
protecting civil liberties, down from 60 percent two years ago.
And 6 in 10 Americans said it was sometimes justified to
sacrifice freedoms for security.

Also of note, Americans age 18-29 believe whistleblowers like
Edward Snowden are justified in leaking classified documents if
they show the government broke the law. Only 54 percent of those
over age 45 agreed.

Monday, September 9

GMT 21:32: Yahoo joined Google and Microsoft Monday in
filing legal action against the US government over the NSA
surveillance programs revealed by Edward Snowden.

The tech giants filed motions in the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Court, which approves government
requests to gain data from the companies, asking for the ability
to share more about the extent of NSA demands for their
customers’ information.

In its motion, Yahoo said it “has been unable to engage fully
in the debate about whether the government has properly used its
powers, because the government has placed a prior restraint on
Yahoo's speech."

Yahoo also criticized news coverage of NSA
revelations, saying the PRISM program - the subject of the first
reports which resulted from Snowden leaks - does not allow the
NSA to access their servers for information.

"Yahoo's inability to respond to news reports has harmed its
reputation and has undermined its business not only in the United
States but worldwide. Yahoo cannot respond to such reports with
mere generalities,” the company claimed in its motion.

Microsoft and Google also filed legal briefs
on Monday for the ability to provide more information about data
requests.

GMT 01:00: The NSA intelligence agency spied on Brazilian
state-run oil giant Petrobras, reports
Brazil's biggest television network Globo TV, which said it
received the information from Glenn Greenwald, the American
journalist who first published secrets leaked by whistleblower
Edward Snowden.

A 2012 NSA presentation aired by the network included a slide
citing an ‘economic’ motive for spying, along with diplomatic and
political reasons. Earlier the US gave assurances that the
Department of Defense, under jurisdiction of which the NSA
operates, “does not engage in economic espionage in any
domain, including cyber.”

An official from the NSA told Globo that the agency gathers
economic information not in order to steal secrets, but to
monitor financial instability.

Saturday, September 7

GMT 20:19: The NSA can access data on smart phones using
the world’s most popular systems including iOS, Android, and
BlackBerry, Germany’s Der Spiegel reported. The agency can access contact
lists, SMS traffic, notes, and users’ current and past locations.

The agency has also organized a working group for each operating
system. The groups are responsible for clandestine operations to
gather data saved on phones.

Der Spiegel noted that spying on smart phones has not been a mass
surveillance operation. It said the tactic was only used on
specific individuals and was done without the knowledge of smart
phone companies.

GMT 17:28: Thousands of people took to the streets of
Berlin, Germany, on Saturday to protest against NSA surveillance
activities and fight for their right to privacy. Demonstrators
carried banners which read, “Stop spying on us,” along with the
phrases “NSA killed by internet” and “Thanks to PRISM the
government finally knows what the people want.”

The protest was mounted by Germany’s Green
party, together with the Left and Pirate parties. The event hosts
claimed the rally was attended by around 20,000 people. However,
police declined to confirm the numbers, only stating that their
“tally differs from that of the organizers.”

Friday, September 6

GMT 21:45: Tech giants Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google
expressed their concern over reports that US
and British spy agencies have the capability to bypass the
encryption of online communications.

"We are unaware of and do not participate in such an
effort,” a Yahoo spokesman said on Friday, referring to the
reports of the multi-million programs of the two countries (US
and the UK) to beat encryption. “Yahoo zealously defends our
users' privacy and responds to government requests for data only
after considering every applicable objection and in accordance
with the law.”

A Microsoft spokesperson said, "We have significant concerns
about the allegations of government activity reported yesterday
and will be pressing the government for an explanation."

GMT 18:47: The US defended its ability to use backdoors
secretly inserted in various online services to bypass
communication encryption. The office of James Clapper, director
of US national intelligence, said his government would simply not
be doing its job if it did not use these legally dubious
techniques to quietly monitor Americans’ everyday communications.

“It should hardly be a surprise that our intelligence agencies
seek ways to counteract our adversaries’ use of encryption,”read the statement issued on Friday.
“Throughout history, nations have used encryption to protect
their secrets, and today, terrorists, cyber-criminals, human
traffickers and others also use code to hide their
activities.”

The report detailing the intelligence agency’s efforts was
published on Thursday by The Guardian, and is the latest result
of leaks from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

GMT 01:41: US President Barack Obama has pledged to work
with Brazil and Mexico to address their concerns over US spying
revealed in recent NSA leaks. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff
appeared to climb down from her earlier
position and told reporters on Friday that a planned visit to
Washington next month may proceed as planned

"My trip to Washington depends on the political conditions to
be created by President Obama," said Rousseff according to
the Brazilian presidency's Twitter feed.

The two leaders had an exchange over the NSA spying scandal
during the G20 summit in Russia.

Thursday, September 5

GMT 15:57: American NSA and British GCHQ have the tools to
bypass sophisticated encryption methods used to secure most
Internet traffic that was previously thought to be protected from
prying eyes.

The Guardian says the US alone spends around
a quarter of a billion dollars each year on this capability. It
involves not just intricate code-breaking, but also maintaining
partnerships with the tech companies that provide seemingly
secure online communication outlets.

“The files show that the National Security Agency (NSA) and
its UK counterpart GCHQ have broadly compromised the guarantees
that Internet companies have given consumers to reassure them
that their communications, online banking and medical records
would be indecipherable to criminals or governments,” James
Ball, Julian Borger and Glenn Greenwald reported for the
Guardian.

GMT 09:12: Brazil has canceled preparations for the visit of President
Dilma Rousseff to the United States over reports she was the
target of National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance. A
Brazilian official told Reuters that Rousseff “is completely
[sic] furious” over the revelations and described the situation
as “a major, major crisis”.

Wednesday, September 4

GMT 07:33: Brazil’s relations with the US are damaged
after it was found the US had been spying on Brazilian President
Rousseff. The country’s government accused the US of lying about NSA
surveillance programs.

“[The US has] not given any reasonable explanations. In fact,
all the explanations that have been given so far are false,”
said Minister of Communications Paulo Bernardo after an emergency
cabinet meeting called by Rousseff.

Brazil launched a probe into telecommunications companies to see
if they illegally shared data with the US intelligence agency.

Meanwhile Brazilian lawmakers asked for federal protection for
the American journalist Glenn Greenwald and his partner David
Miranda, saying they are key witnesses in the investigation of NSA
spying on Brazilians. Greenwald’s reports on American
surveillance are based on documents leaked by former NSA
contractor Edward Snowden.

Monday, September 2

16:30 GMT: It has emerged, according to new documents seen by German publication Der
Spiegel, that the NSA directly targeted the French Foreign
Ministry in its surveillance operations. The document from June
2010, marked 'Top Secret' states that gaining access to their VPN
computer network was considered a 'success story.' The NSA was
especially interested in foreign policy objectives, such as
weapons trade and economic stability.

Sunday, September 1

01:16 GMT: New batch of NSA documents leaked by Edward
Snowden suggest that Russian Aeroflot airlines and news
broadcaster Al Jazeera were spied on by the NSA, the German Der
Spiegel claims.

The publication states that based on a 2006 document, the NSA
hacked into Al Jazeera's internal communications system to read
communication by "interesting targets."

The new data also revealed that reservation services for Russian
airline Aeroflot, was also being surveyed. The NSA said these
selected targets had "high potential as sources of
intelligence."

Saturday, August 31

13:00 GMT: Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald has
released a video honoring Snowden upon his reception of the 2013
'Whistleblower Prize' in Berlin.

11:00 GMT: Snowden's lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, said that
former NSA contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden did not
stay at the Russian consulate in Hong Kong prior to his arrival
in Moscow, as previously reported by Kommersant newspaper.

"Edward told me that he never visited any diplomatic missions
and that all this is inaccurate. He never had any talks with our
diplomats while in Hong Kong," Kucherena said.

On Monday, the same paper declared that Snowden had spent his
30th birthday at the consulate, citing a Western source as having
provided confirmation.

However, Kucherena did say that "he and his friends stayed at
a hotel there... He understood he was being chased, so he moved
often." A Russian government source said that Snowden
turned up uninvited for two days before leaving for Hong Kong.

05:04 GMT: US intelligence agencies carried out 231
cyber-operations in 2011, The Washington Post reported in
detailing a more aggressive, expanding cyber-attack architecture
than was previously known. In addition, a $652 million program
named GENIE helps the US break into foreign networks to plant
sophisticated malware in computers, routers and firewalls in tens
of thousands of machines every year. Almost three-quarters of the
231 attacks in 2011 were against top-priority targets including
Iran, Russia, China and North Korea, and activities including
nuclear proliferation. The disclosure of US cyber-ops, defined by
the US “to manipulate, disrupt, deny, degrade, or destroy
information resident in computers or computer networks, or the
computers and networks themselves,” were provided by NSA
whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Friday, August 30

21:00 GMT: Edward Snowden has refused to meet with
American diplomats in Russia, his lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena said
Friday.

“A few people approached trying to negotiating the meeting,
including US diplomats. I related the message to Edward, but he
refused to meet with them. His decision, he explained, was based
on the campaign launched against him by the US State Department,
which shows only a prejudice against him and his human rights
stance. I passed this message on to the diplomats,” the
lawyer said.

Kucherena, who is in constant contact with the whistleblower,
said that his client was undergoing an adaptation period and is
learning Russian. He also told the press that he will not violate
client-attorney privilege, and would not disclose Snowden’s
whereabouts. What Snowden might do next might be decided once his
father arrives in Russia, Kucherena said.

The lawyer said that Snowden was still in danger. “The level
of danger threatening him to this day remains high. While in the
transit area, he knew he was being hunted by a huge country that
can use any of its methods and tools to catch him,” Kucherena
said.

Regarding the revelations of Snowden-leaked wires that appeared
recently in Western publications, Kucherena said that the
material was handed over to the editors before Snowden left Hong
Kong. Therefore, he has not violated his pledge to President
Putin not to harm US interests.

18:58 GMT: The New York Times was
asked by British authorities to destroy classified
intelligence files leaked to the media by former national
security contractor Edward Snowden.

Wednesday, August 28

19:27 GMT: President Obama has revealed the members of a new
review panel that will assess how the US handles
issues of technology in the realm of foreign policy and
intelligence gathering.

The panel, originally announced on August 9 by Obama to be an
independent check on federal government tech
initiatives in the wake of the NSA spying revelations, will
consist of four former White House and intelligence community
staffers -- Michael Morell, Richard Clarke, Cass Sunstein and
Peter Swire -- and academic Geoffrey Stone, who has close
personal ties to Obama.

Tuesday, August 27

13:17 GMT: Mass tracking and collection of Americans'
phone call data violates the US constitution, the American Civil
Liberties Union said in a court motion. The National Security
Agency’s surveillance program "permits the government to assemble
a richly detailed profile of every person living in the United
States and to draw a comprehensive map of their associations with
one another," the motion says.

ACLU argues that part of the basis for the FISA court's approval
of the NSA's mass collection of phone metadata involved Smith vs
Maryland 1979 case, surveillance directed at a specific criminal
which does not suggest “that the constitution allows the
government's mass collection of sensitive information about every
single phone call made or received by residents of the United
States over a period of seven years."

The motion is part of a lawsuit filed by the ACLU on 11 June
2013, accusing NSA director Keith Alexander, the director of
intelligence James Clapper, defence secretary Chuck Hagel, the
attorney general Eric Holder and FBI director Robert Mueller of
violating the first and fourth amendments.

Monday, August 26

18:05 GMT:The United Nations said it plans to
contact the US officials regarding the Der Spiegel report
that the NSA bugged its New York headquarters. "We're aware of
the reports and we intend to be in touch with the relevant
authorities on this," UN spokesman Farhan Haq said, adding
that “member states are expected to act accordingly to protect
the inviolability of diplomatic missions."

11:00 GMT: On of Merkel's key rivals has threatened to
scupper EU-US trade talks over the NSA spying program.

Peer Steinbruck, leader of the Social Democrats, says he will
delay EU trade negotiations over the NSA bugging of German
government offices.

Edward Snowden was forced to stay in Russia after the US
threatened Cuba with “adverse consequences” should the NSA
whistleblower get on board Aeroflot’s Moscow-Havana flight,
Kommersant newspaper has learnt.

Under US pressure the Cuban authorities informed Moscow the
Aeroflot plane would not be able to land in Havana, a source told
the Russian newspaper.

The paper also pointed out that Russian authorities did not
contact Snowden or issue an invitation to take refuge on its
territory, however were aware that he would arrive to Moscow en
route to Latin America.

Sunday, August 25

The United States was not just busy spying on the European Union,
according to documents obtained by Der Spiegel, but had its
surveillance apparatus trained on the international body as
well. The US National Security Agency (NSA) successfully
cracked the encryption code protecting the United Nations’
internal videoconferencing system.

Within three weeks of initially gaining access to the UN system,
the NSA had increased the number of such decrypted communications
from 12 to 458, the report revealed.

Friday, August 23

National Security Agency officers have engaged in spying on their
love interests. It is a popular enough practice to have its own
Orwellian label within the agency called “LOVEINT”.

“LOVEINT” is deemed a ‘wilful violation’ and “very rare”
misconduct by the organization. “NSA has zero tolerance for
wilful violations of the agency’s authorities” and responds
“as appropriate,” the agency said in a statement on
Friday, published in WSJ.

Wednesday, August 21

19:30 GMT: Speaking about Army Pfc. Bradley Manning’s
sentence announced on Wednesday, Edward Snowden’s lawyer, Anatoly
Kucherena, told RT that he is “confused.” He believes the
US intelligence leaker was given a 35 year sentence as a
“warning to others” who might want to “blow the
whistle.”

In light of the ruling, “[we can see that] nobody will
consider Edward [Snowden’s] position concerning human rights”
in the United States , Kucherena stated, hinting that the NSA
leaker is not keen on returning to his home country.

Meanwhile, the lawyer noted that Snowden has not yet met with his
father, but is “eagerly waiting” for the
reunion.

9:55 GMT: The UK’s Labour Party has called for
Parliament’s intelligence watchdog to investigate Prime Minister
David Cameron’s role in asking The Guardian to destroy their
Snowden documents. This follows reports in the Independent and
the Daily Mail that the order to destroy the files originated
from Number 10.

Clearly the government does have a responsibility to protect
national security. However, I think this may be another area
where an inquiry by the intelligence and security committee [ISC]
may be the right way forward in terms of this particular case and
what the prime minister's role was," said Labour MP Yvette
Cooper on BBC Radio 4.

Tuesday, August 20

12:20 GMT: Britain has defended its actions against the
partner of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald David Miranda, who
was detained for nine hours under anti-terrorism legislation at
Heathrow Airport.

"The government and the police have a duty to protect the
public and our national security," a Home Office spokesman
said in a statement. "If the police believe that an individual
is in possession of highly sensitive stolen information that
would help terrorism, then they should act and the law provides
them with a framework to do that."

"Those who oppose this sort of action need to think about what
they are condoning."

09:48 GMT: Russia has not received any official requests
from the US concerning extradition of former CIA employee Edward
Snowden, who on August 1 was granted temporary asylum in Russia,
Deputy Prosecutor General Aleksandr Zvyagintsev told media. “They
only informed us that his passport is annulled,” he said. Earlier
the US President Barack Obama canceled a meeting with his Russian
counterpart, reportedly because of the situation with Snowden. US
Secretary of State John Kerry intends to address Russia’s Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss the case of Edward Snowden.

08:00 GMT: On Tuesday Greater London’s Metropolitan Police
Service (MPS) said the detention of Miranda was both “legally
and procedurally sound.”

Saying the detention of the 28-year-old was “necessary and
appropriate”, the MET continued that contrary some reports,
Miranda had been offered legal representation and was attended to
by a lawyer.

"No complaint has been received by the MPS at this time,"
the police statement read.

The statement continued that Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act
2000, which grants police the power to stop and question people
traveling through British ports and airports to determine whether
they are involved in planning terrorist plots, was used
"appropriately and proportionately".

Monday, August 19

19:00 GMT: On Monday, Glenn Greenwald promised to release
more documents, saying the UK would be
“sorry” for detaining his partner David Miranda for nine
hours.

"I have many more documents to report on, including ones about
the UK, where I'll now focus more. I will be more aggressive, not
less, in reporting," said Greenwald, speaking in Portuguese
to reporters at Rio de Janeiro's international airport, Reuters
reported.

On Sunday, Miranda was detained under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism
Act 2000, which allows police to stop and question people
travelling through British ports and airports to determine
whether they are involved in planning terrorist acts.

Miranda said he was treated like a terrorist during his
detention.

“They treated me like I was a criminal or someone about to
attack the UK…they were threatening me all the time and saying I
would be put in jail if I didn't cooperate,” Miranda told the
Guardian. “It was exhausting and frustrating, but I knew I
wasn't doing anything wrong."

17:19 GMT: France’s CNIL agency says that European data
protection agencies have written to the European Commission,
calling for help in obtaining information needed in order to
“assess independently to what extent the protection provided
by EU data protection legislation is at risk and possibly
breached” by the US intelligence-gathering program PRISM, AFP
reported.

In the letter written to Vice President and Commissioner for
Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, Viviane Reding, the
agencies have said “they should evaluate the exact impact of
the PRISM program on the privacy and data of European
citizens,” adding that "many questions as to the
consequences of these intelligence programs remain.”

Sunday, August 18

11:50 GMT: David Miranda, partner of the Guardian
journalist Glenn Greenwald who broke several stories based on
information from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, was detained
for almost nine hours by British authorities on his way
home to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Miranda was detained under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000,
which allows police to stop and question people travelling
through British ports and airports to determine whether they are
involved in planning terrorist acts.

The 28-year-old was held for the maximum amount of time allowable
by law, having been detained at 8:05 am and released without
charge at 5 pm, according to a Scotland Yard statement.

Electronics in Miranda’s possession, including his cell phone,
laptop, memory sticks, and “various video game consoles” were
confiscated.

The Guardian said it was dismayed at the detention of Miranda and
was “urgently seeking clarification from the British authorities”
as to why it happened.

Thursday, August 15

23:30 GMT: It is now believed that former NSA contractor
Edward Snowden actually began downloading documents of US
electronic surveillance programs while working for Dell Inc in
April of 2012, about a year prior to what has been reported so
far, according to Reuters which cited US officials and other
unspecified sources.

Snowden worked for Dell from 2009 until earlier in 2013 as a
contract worker for the NSA both in the US and Japan. Snowden
downloaded information while employed by Dell regarding
surveillance programs led by the NSA and Britain’s Government
Communications Headquarters, and evidently left behind electronic
evidence of when those documents had first been accessed.

This new information could shift scrutiny away from Snowden’s
later employer, Booz Allen Hamilton, which has received the bulk
of scrutiny from the whistleblower’s unauthorized leaking of
classified intelligence info. Snowden was with Booz Allen for
three months. According to Reuters, the material Snowden
downloaded in April 2012 while a Dell employee included NSA
collection from fiber-optic cables, including transoceanic
cables, of large quantities of internet traffic and other
communications.

Wednesday, August 14

10:33 GMT: Now everybody can help Edward Snowden escape
the clutches of Uncle Sam, at least in the digital world of game
technology. German game developer Binji has announced the release
of a free online videogame entitled, “Eddy’s Run: The Prism
Prison,” Time magazine reported. The creators of the game,
which takes its cue from “Mario Brothers,” is “a bow” to
Snowden, the former NSA contractor who revealed the details of
the agency’s vast global surveillance program.

Players are able to help Snowden escape from cameras, drones and
government agents with the assistance of reporters and exploding
laptops.

It’s not all virtual fun, however. One of the game’s more
interactive features involves the “Take Action” button, which
directs players to sign a petition on AVAAZ.org, demanding that
Snowden be “treated fairly, humanely and given due process.”

Monday, August 12

23:09 GMT: US
President Barack Obama has appointed James Clapper, the current
head of National Intelligence, to oversee a board which monitors
NSA surveillance policies. Obama asserted that the board would be
put in place to “maintain the trust of the people,”
although Clapper was previously accused of lying to Congress
under oath when questioned on the existence of a domestic
surveillance database.

The exact duties of the oversight group remain unknown, although
Obama said on August 9 that it will consist of “a high-level
group of outside experts to review our entire intelligence and
communications technologies.”

22:10 GMT: The US Charge d'Affaires in Madrid, Luis G.
Moreno, has been summoned to the Spanish Foreign Ministry for
"clarifications" over a report published by Der Spiegel on
Sunday, Spanish state television reported.

Der Spiegel revealed that Spain had received a mid-priority rank
in the NSA’s list of surveillance targets. Moreno
said he understood the “given reasons and concerns
expressed” by Spain and that he would seek to gain more
information regarding the surveillance.

21:09 GMT: If the Russian capital was hosting one of the
NSA servers used for surveillance by US intelligence, it would be
located in the US embassy in Moscow, an unidentified Russian
special services member told Vedomosti daily. The source said
that he is "practically 100 percent sure" that one of the
XKeyscore servers is located inside the embassy. The existence of
such servers, along with NSA spying capabilities, was revealed on
July 31 in the Guardian newspaper through information provided by
whistleblower Edward Snowden. The leaks detailed more than 700
XKeyscore servers worldwide. One of the dots on a marked map
points to Moscow.

John Graham, a former US diplomat, told RT it is no secret that
world powers spy on each other, but the news that really shook
the world is that America spies on its own citizens.

Friday, August 9

14:18 GMT: Edward Snowden's father plans to fly to Russia
from his home in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to meet with his son
next week, a representative of Lon Snowden’s lawyer said.

“First thing is for Lon and Ed to be reunited," Mattie
Fein, spokeswoman and wife of Lon Snowden's attorney, Bruce Fein,
is cited as saying by Wall Street Journal. "He wants to make
sure he is healthy and safe and then to get him a lawyer [to
defend his interests in the US]."

The spokeswoman added that elder Snowden isn’t planning to make
any comments until after he had seen his son, despite media
onslaught expected on his Moscow arrival.

08:04 GMT: Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden hasn’t
notified the Migration Service in Moscow about his registration
in the capital, which means the whistleblower most probably lives
outside the city.

"We have no such information. I haven’t received such
information - he is not in Moscow," head of the Moscow branch
of Russia’s Federal Migration Service Olga Kirillova told RIA
Novosti.

The head of FMS for the Moscow Region earlier told reporters that
Snowden, who has received a temporary residence permit in the
Russian Federation, can notify the Migration Service about his
registration anywhere in the country. In case of his request to
move to another Russian region, he will have to wait for official
permission.

03:11 GMT: The NSA wants to prevent future security
breaches by replacing the position once held by whistleblower
Edward Snowden with computers, the secretive intelligence agency
director revealed.

The National Security Agency, which currently employs up to 1,000
systems administrators, is planning to drastically cut back on
the number of people holding this position, Gen. Keith Alexander said during a cyber-security
conference in New York City.

“What we’re in the process of doing – not fast enough – is
reducing our systems administrators by about 90 percent,”
Alexander informed.

“We’ve put people in the loop of transferring data, securing
networks and doing things that machines are probably better at
doing,” he added.

Snowden, a former employee of government-contracted consulting
firm Booz Allen Hamilton, worked for the NSA for over a year
before his role changed to systems administrator. It was while
holding this position that he leaked classified details about
surveillance programs to the media.

While the leaker has been referred to as a systems administrator,
he told The Guardian that his job was actually to work as an
“infrastructure analyst,” spending his days searching for
new methods to infiltrate the internet and telephone networks.

Thursday, August 8

16:14 GMT: Lon Snowden, the father of the former CIA
employee Edward Snowden, has filed documents applying for a
Russian travel visa, a representative of Snowden Sr.'s lawyer
Mattie Fein told Itar-Tass news agency. Snowden Snr. is planning
to come to Russia later this month. He will be accompanied by his
US lawyers. It’s not clear yet how long it will take the Russian
authorities to a visa to the whistleblower’s father.

Edward Snowden’s lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, earlier informed that
he had sent an invitation to Lon Snowden to visit Russia. The
invitations were also sent to some of the leaker’s friends and
his lawyer.

21:10 GMT: The highly-encrypted email service reportedly
used by National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden has
gone offline, and its administrator claims
the company is legally barred from explaining why. The homepage
of Lavabit.com was changed Thursday to a letter from the
company’s owner announcing that the site’s operations have ceased
following a six-week long ordeal that is prompting the company to
take legal action in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Wednesday, August 7

03:07 GMT: The whistleblower’s father Lon Snowden expressed gratitude to Vladimir
Putin for granting his son political asylum despite pressure from
the US, which is outraged by Russia's decision. On the same day
the US President Barack Obama canceled a planned trip to Moscow.
“President Vladimir Putin has stood firm. I respect his strength
and courage,” Lon Snowden told Reuters. “He has stood firm
against the face of intense pressure from our government and I
have to believe that he will continue to stand firm.”

Snowden Snr. said that he has not spoken to his son since Edward
traveled from Hawaii to Hong Kong and then on to Russia after
revealing the existence of secret government programs that
routinely monitor the telephone and electronic communications of
millions of Americans. Other revelations included American spying
on foreign diplomats and international metadata interception.

19:40 GMT: Barack Obama has canceled a meeting with
Vladimir Putin scheduled for September, largely over the Snowden
asylum decision.

"Russia’s disappointing decision to grant Edward Snowden
temporary asylum was also a factor that we considered in
assessing the current state of our bilateral relationship,"
the White House said in a statement.

The Kremlin says it is "disappointed" with the decision,
saying the Snowden situation "was not created by us".

“All this situation shows that the US is still not ready to
build relations with Russia on equal footing,” presidential
aide Yury Ushakov told the media.

13:00 GMT: Obama claimedthat there was no domestic spying program in the US,
and called covert surveillance operations a “critical
component to counter terrorism.”“We don’t have a domestic
spying program,” he said.

03:49
GMT:Glenn Greenwald, the
journalist involved in thepublication of leaksprovided by Edward
Snowden, said in a testimony to the Brazilian government that he
possesses up to 20,000 secret US government files.

"I did not do an exact count, but he [Snowden] gave me 15,000
to 20,000 documents. Very, very complete and very long,"
Greenwald revealed.

The Brazil-based American reporter, who was approached by Snowden
while the latter still worked as a contractor for the NSA, has
published details of US electronic surveillance programs taking
place domestically and abroad.
"The stories we have published are a small portion. There will
certainly be more revelations on the espionage activities of the
US government and allied governments...on how they have
penetrated the communications systems of Brazil and Latin
America," he added.

12:51 GMT: The former head of CIA and NSA hypothesized
that a massive hacker attack on the US was possible from
"sex-starved" activists, “nihilists, anarchists”
like Anonymous in retaliation for any future prosecution of
leaker Edward Snowden.

"If and when our government grabs Edward Snowden and brings
him back here to the United States for trial, what does this
group do?"Michael Hayden asked in a speech to Washington
group, the Bipartisan Policy Center.

The retired Air Force general speculated that Snowden supporters
would have a hard time attacking ‘dot-mils’, the well-protected
military computer networks in the .mil internet domain.
"So if they can't create great harm to dot-mil, who are they
going after?" he pondered, according to the Guardian. "Who
for them are the World Trade Centers? The World Trade Centers, as
they were for Al-Qaeda."

Tuesday, August 6

20:04 GMT: Over 150 civil society organizations from
across the world have called on President Barack Obama to end the
prosecution of the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
“All of us ask that he is protected and not persecuted,” the
executive director of the Article 19 campaign for freedom of
information, Dr. Agnes Callamard, stated on behalf of numerous
international organizations.

According to civil rights activists, Snowden's disclosures have
triggered a “much-needed public debate” about online mass
surveillance.

However, “rather than address this gross abuse, the US
government has chosen to shoot the messenger,” Callamard
noted, adding that “the knock-on effect will be to encourage
others to follow by example.”

“States that have even less regard for their citizens will
justify attacks on those who put themselves at significant risk
to expose wrongdoing and corruption or raise matters of serious
public concern,” she warned, urging President Obama to
protect Snowden and other whistleblowers and initiate a public
investigation into the legality of the NSA's actions.

Saturday, August 3

07:00 GMT: British spies working from the government’s
GCHQ eavesdropping station will have to answer to MP’s about
payments made by the US government and what was expected in
return, according to Sir Malcolm Rifkind, chairman of the
parliamentary spy watchdog the Intelligence and Security
Committee

Friday, August 2

15:33 GMT: Lon Snowden, father of NSA
whistleblower Edward Snowden, has not yet applied for a Russian
visa, Russia’s embassy in the US reports.

“So far he has not applied to us,” Yevgeny Khorishko,
press-attaché of the Russian diplomatic mission in Washington,
told the Interfax news agency. Edward Snowden’s lawyer, Anatoly
Kucherena, said earlier that an official invitation for Lon
Snowden to visit Russia would be sent to the Russian Embassy in
Washington by the evening of August 2.

14:06 GMT: Edward Snowden’s legal representative
Anatoly Kucherena said the former CIA employee still cannot go
out or move freely because of security concerns.

“The level of threat that he [Snowden] is under does not
let him calmly go out and walk on Red Square, or go fishing
somewhere,” Kucherena stressed, refuting rumors that Snowden
has already visited a night club.

However, Snowden has free Internet access as an
“absolutely free man, not restrained in his rights,” the
lawyer added.

Kucherena also said he does not rule out that Snowden might
seek medical attention.

“He certainly needs to undertake some course of
treatment, but the decision is up to him,” Kucherena said,
adding that Snowden’s condition is “overall
normal.”

12:55 GMT: A new photo of Edward Snowden leaving Moscow's
Sheremetyevo Airport has appeared in Russian
media.

12:10 GMT: Russian Presidential aide Yury Ushakov met with
US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul to discuss the new status
of former CIA employee Edward Snowden, who was granted temporary
asylum in the Russian Federation.

McFaul and Ushakov also discussed other issues pertaining to
Russian-American relations, such as the present situation in
Syria, missile defense, nuclear arms reduction, human rights and
bilateral trade, the US embassy in Moscow reported.

Thursday, August 1

23:43 GMT: The
numerous reports in the US press of members of Congress going on
TV and expressing their outrage was a quite predictable outcome
of Russia's decision to grant Snowden asylum, Daniel Wagner, CEO
of Country Risk Solutions told RT.

“This is predictable, it’s
to be expected. And in a sense there is no other response that
many of them would have. That said, there was a poll that came
out just this week by Quinnipiac which said that 55 per cent of
the American people view Mr. Snowden as a whistleblower rather
than a traitor, and that fits very well with a poll that was just
released in Moscow where more than half of Russian people view
him favorably,” Wagner said.

“So, I think that there’s
going to be some stomping of feet on the other side of the
Atlantic, but if you ask the average person they’re probably
going to say he’s doing more good than harm.”

19:48 GMT: US ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, has
discussed Washington’s position on the Snowden standoff with the
Russian government, Marie Harf, State Department spokeswoman,
said.

She stressed that the US government didn’t want the issue “to
broadly negatively affect our bilateral relationship,” but
added that the current situation “behoves us to evaluate where
the relationship is.”

Harf also said that Russia didn’t notify the US in advance of its
decision to grant asylum to Snowden.

18:55 GMT: The EU has declined to comment on the situation
around Edward Snowden’s asylum in Russia.

“All I can say is that it’s a bilateral issue between the US
and Russia,” Michael Mann, spokesman for EU foreign policy
chief Catherine Ashton, told Interfax.

18:53 GMT: Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian journalist
responsible for publishing some of Snowden’s first leaks, has
slammed the mainstream media for making groundless accusations
that the NSA leaker has provided information to Russia and
China.

We have zero evidence that China or Russia got any data from
Snowden - & he denies it - but we'll just keep saying it
anyway #USJournalism

18:42 GMT: US Democratic senator, Charles Schumer, says
the G20 summit, which is scheduled to take place in Saint
Petersburg on September 5-6, should be moved from Russia after it
granted asylum to Snowden.

"Russia has stabbed us in the back, and each day that Mr
Snowden is allowed to roam free is another twist of the
knife," Schumer, the Senate's third-ranking Democrat, said in
a statement. "Given Russia's decision today, the president
should recommend moving the G20 summit.”

18:20 GMT: Next week’s talks between US Secretary of State
John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, are “up
in the air” after Moscow granted temporary asylum to Edward
Snowden, a US official told Reuters, speaking on condition of
anonymity.

18:15 GMT: US Senator John McCain expressed his outrage with Snowden’s
Russian asylum and demanded Washington re-examine its relations
with Moscow and “strip away the illusions that many Americans
have had about Russia.”
“Russia’s action today is a disgrace and a deliberate effort to
embarrass the United States,” he said. “It is a slap in
the face of all Americans. Now is the time to fundamentally
rethink our relationship with Putin’s Russia. We need to deal
with the Russia that is, not the Russia we might wish for.”

Snowden stays in the land of transparency and human rights.
Time to hit that reset button again #Russia

McCain’s proposed countermeasures include, expansion of the
Magnitsky Act, completion of all phases of the US missile defense
programs in Eastern Europe and support for Russian
“dissidents” like Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Aleksey
Navalny.

18:07 GMT: The White House is re-evaluating if US
President, Barack Obama, needs to participate in the autumn summit with Russian
counterpart, Vladimir Putin, White House spokesperson, Jay
Carney, said.

He stressed the US is “extremely disappointed that the Russian
government” has granted temporary asylum to Edward Snowden,
adding that the “unfortunate development” undermines the
record of law enforcement cooperation between the two states.

Carney also said that Washington doesn’t want “Mr Snowden to
become a problem” in US relations with Russia, which cover
“important and broad” issues.

17:59 GMT: The NSA has made hush-hush payments of at least $150 million to
Britain’s GCHQ spying agency over the past three years to
influence British intelligence gathering operations, new Snowden
leaks published by The Guardian revealed.

17:02 GMT: It was “very difficult” mentally for Edward
Snowden to stay at in Sheremetyevo airport’s transit zone for
over a month, whistleblower’s lawyer told the reporters.

Anatoly Kucherena also promised the NSA leaker would personally
talk to the media as soon as he gets the chance.
“He [Snowden] asked me to thank everyone, and to ask the
journalists personally not to take offence at him, and to
understand that the question of security is his priority at the
moment,” he said. "As soon as he gets the opportunity to
do an interview, we will surely organize it. We have already
discussed this issue."

“First of all, I’d like to tell you that this is not a
political asylum, because today, and I regret to say this, the
mass media sometimes confuses the notions and people can’t
understand what the issue is about,” he stressed. “Today
Edward Snowden has received the papers, which guarantee him a
temporary, one-year asylum on the territory of the Russian
Federation. It means, that during this time Snowden will be able
to live on the territory of the Russian Federation wherever he
wants to – from Vladivostok to Kaliningrad, for example, because
he himself choses the place to live.”

16:16 GMT: WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, has called
Russian asylum for Edward Snowden “another victory” in the fight
against the Obama administration, which is waging a war on the
whistleblowers.

"This is another victory in the fight against Obama’s war on
whistleblowers. This battle has been won, but the war
continues,” Assange told WikiLeaks website. “The United
States can no longer continue the surveillance of world citizens
and its digital colonization of sovereign nations. The public
will no longer stand for it. Whistleblowers will continue to
appear until the government abides by its own laws and
rhetoric."

16:15 GMT: A statement by the WikiLeaks reveals the words
Edward Snowden said after he was handed the Russian asylum
certificate.

"Over the past eight weeks we have seen the Obama
administration show no respect for international or domestic law,
but in the end the law is winning,” the NSA leaker stressed.
“I thank the Russian Federation for granting me asylum in
accordance with its laws and international obligations."

15:30 GMT: Edward Snowden’s father, Lonnie Snowden, told
the Rossiya 24 news channel that he’s “thankful to the Russian
nation and President Vladimir Putin” for granting one-year
asylum to his son, who is wanted on espionage charges in the
US.

“We invite Edward Snowden to Saint Petersburg and we’ll be
happy if he decides to join the star-team of VKontakte
programmers,” the network’s founder, Pavel Durov, wrote on
his VK page. “After all, VK is the most popular European
Internet company. I think it’ll be interesting for Edward to be
engaged in the protection of the personal data of our users.”
14:22 GMT: An image is released of Edward Snowden leaving
Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport after being granted a one-year
asylum in Russia.

“I think it probably hurts the relationship, you know he’s
undoubtedly in my mind a traitor to our country and probably most
of what he knows, the Russians already know… It’s a goldmine for
them,” he said on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’.

13:29 GMT: Russia’s Federal Migration service officially
confirms that Edward Snowden has been granted a temporary asylum
in Russia.

13:00 GMT: Edward Snowden can’t be extradited to the US, even
if with an official request from Washington, after he has
received one-year asylum in Russia, the source in Russian law
enforcement agencies tells the Itar-Tass news agency.
"Receiving temporary asylum protects Snowden from deportation
because, by law, the person receiving asylum can’t be returned
against his will to his former place of residence or to the
country whose citizenship he previously held,” the source
said.

12:42 GMT: Ties between Moscow and Washington will not be
affected by Edward Snowden being granted one-year asylum in
Russia, Vladimir Putin's aide Yury Ushakov said.

"Our president has expressed the hope many times that this
will not affect the character of our relations," Ushakov
tells reporters, adding that there is no sign that US President
Barack Obama will cancel his planned visit to Moscow in
September.

"This situation is rather insignificant and won’t influence
political relations," Ushakov says.

12:30 GMT: WikiLeaks thanks everybody who has assisted the
NSA whistleblower in Russia.

We would like to thank the Russian people and all those
others who have helped to protect Mr. Snowden. We have won the
battle--now the war.

11:51 GMT: Edward Snowden has been issued papers, allowing
him to enter Russian territory, according to his legal
representative in the country.

“I have just handed over to him papers from the Russian
Immigration Service. They are what he needs to leave the transit
zone,” Interfax reports Anatoly Kucherena as saying.

Wednesday, July 31

16:13 GMT: On the same morning that the United States
Senate grilled the nation’s top investigators about domestic
surveillance, the Director of National Intelligence declassified three documents detailing those
programs “in the interest of increased transparency.”

14:42 GMT: No one has been fired and no one offered to
resign in light of the fact that former security contractor
Edward Snowden was able to take large amounts of classified data
from US National Security Agency computers, the deputy director
of the NSA said on Wednesday. “No one has offered to resign.
Everyone is working hard to understand what happened,”
Reuters quoted John Inglis as saying. The official was speaking
at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

05:20 GMT: If the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden
returned to the US for prosecution, he will not be granted the
constitutional right of due process, his father, Lon Snowden, fears.

“The fact is no assurances have been made that he will be
given a fair trial, that he deserves, or any citizen of this
nation is given by our Constitution,” he told Rossiya 24 news
channel during an interview in the US.

According to the elder Snowden, his son would be maltreated in US
custody in the run up to the trial, similar to the case of Pfc.
Bradley Manning, who was recently found guilty on 20 offences
linked to the leaking of classified US information to WikiLeaks.

“I just don’t have a high level of trust in our justice
system, not only because of what has happened to my son,” Lon
Snowden said.

Russia is currently considering Edward Snowden’s request for
temporary asylum, while the whistleblower still remains in the
transit zone of the Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport.

“I feel Russia has the strength and resolve and convictions to
protect my son,” Edward Snowden’s father wrapped up.

Tuesday, July 30

14:15 GMT: US whistleblower Edward Snowden was thrilled by
a novel from one of Russia’s most eloquent wordsmiths,
Dostoevsky. The author’s most renowned work, "Crime and
Punishment", was given to the former NSA contractor by his legal
representative in Russia, Anatoly Kucherena, a source close to
the Public Chamber member told Interfax, adding that Snowden
continues to study the Russian language and Russian history.

The 30-year-old leaker, who has been in the transit zone of the
Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport for over a month, asked Kucherena
for a complete collection of works by the prominent historian
Nikolay Karamzin.

Apart from food for thought, Kucherena has recently given Snowden
a new set of clothes – clean shirts and shoes.

"Anatoly was deeply disappointed when he learned that his
guess of Snowden’s shoe size was wrong, and he had to buy a new
pair of shoes of a smaller size," the source said.

10:00 GMT: The Russian Justice Ministry has sent a formal
response to a letter from US Attorney General Eric Holder
detailing America’s position on Edward Snowden. The ministry did
not provide details of its reply.

Holder’s letter was aimed at clarifying some points regarding the
US case against Snowden, including the statement that the US
would provide a legal guarantee that the whistleblower would not
be subject to capital punishment if tried on US soil. The
document did not include any requests to extradite or deport him.

09:10 GMT: The Russian Orthodox Church supports Russia’s decision to formally review
Snowden’s request for political asylum despite pressure from the
US to hand him over. Moscow should “defend true freedom from
the global ideological dictate, the electronic concentration
camp,” believes the spokesman for the Church Vsevolod
Chaplin.

He lashed out at what he described as creeping rise of electronic
surveillance and the control over individuals it brings, which
“may become more rigid than any totalitarian system of the
20th century”.

Sunday, July 28

12:34 GMT: The thousands of people who marched in protest
of a new bill that would grant the New Zealand’s government
sweeping spy powers, were misinformed, Kiwi Prime Minister John
Key has said playing down the nationwide protests.

"At the risk of encouraging them to have more protests, I
would have actually said those numbers were quite light – it
wasn't anything like what we saw for mining or anything
else,"he told TVNZ's Q&A program on Sunday.

"Secondly, a lot of people that would go along would be either
A, politically aligned, or B, with the greatest of respect,
misinformed,” he stressed.

9:30 GMT: The Russian Ministry of Justice has announced it
is working on a reply to a letter it received from US Attorney General Eric
Holder, in which he assured that Edward Snowden will not be
tortured or given the death penalty if he is returned to the US.

The Ministry does not specify what the answer will be or when it
will be sent to the US.

Saturday, July 27

17:00 GMT: The Russian Ministry of Justice said in a
statement that according to the country’s laws, former CIA
employer Snowden can stay inside the international transit zone
for as long as he pleases, even though his travel documents were
revoked by the United States.

The ministry also replied to US Ambassador to Russia Michael
McFaul’s earlier tweet that the US was not seeking Snowden's
extradition, but was instead asking for his return. The ministry
explained that it could not comply with such a request, simply
because the term “forced return” does not exist in international
law.

"As a rule, the term 'return' in Russian law and practice is
applied to voluntary entry of individuals from abroad into the
country whose citizens they are," the ministry said.

14:00 GMT: Thousands of people have protested in 11 cities
and towns across New Zealand against the new surveillance bill that
would enable the country’s Government Communications Security
Bureau (GCSB) to spy on its citizens.

MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom joined the rally. He told the crowd
that the government had invaded his privacy and "if they can
do that to me they can do that to any of you."

Prime Minister John Key defended the bill, saying that it would
give greater oversight and was "a strengthening of the
previous legislation.”

12:00 GMT: Anti-NSA protests have been organized in at
least 40 German cities, including Hamburg, Munich, and Berlin,
with the largest rally taking place in Frankfurt. Participants
responded to calls for demonstrations, which were initiated by a
loose network calling itself #stopwatchingus.

The Germans have been outraged by the news that the country’s
secret services helped the NSA in its massive spying, as was
exposed by Der Spiegel magazine.

04:42 GMT: The US State Department does not believe that
imposing international sanctions because of Snowden would be of
any use, said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has recently proposed that the
US State Department set penalties against those nations that seek
to help former NSA contractor Edward Snowden avoid extradition to
the US.

The Senate Appropriations Committee has already approved the
proposal unanimously by voice vote as an amendment to 2014
diplomacy and international aid bill.

“We have not seen the text of the proposed bill, but we feel
that in general legislation imposing sanctions under these
circumstances would not be helpful,” Psaki shared, adding
that she is not going “to make a prediction about any step we
may or may not take.”

“Our focus in this specific case is having Mr. Snowden
returned to the United States, and we still feel Russia has the
opportunity to do that and to take the right steps,” the
spokesperson stressed.

The Obama administration also has no intention to repeat the
major scandal of 1980 and boycott Winter Olympic Games in
Russia’s Sochi in 2014.

“That’s certainly not what we’re calling for,” the
spokeswoman told journalists at a daily press briefing.

Friday, July 26

23:50 GMT: Edward Snowden’s father, Lon Snowden of
Allentown, Pennsylvania, told the AP on Friday that he believed
his son’s best option was now to remain in the Russian
Federation. Lon Snowden had been working with attorneys to
arrange for a fair trial of his son in the US, allowing for his
return, but on Friday said that he had lost faith in the Obama
administration and Congress after his son had been vilified. Mr.
Snowden had echoed that sentiment during a Friday appearance on
NBC's Today Show stating that there was a concerted effort by
some members of Congress to "demonize" his son.

"If it were me, knowing what I
know now, and listening to advice of sage people like [Pentagon
Papers leaker] Daniel Ellsberg ... I would attempt to find a safe
haven," Snowden said.

The elder Snowden, a US Coast Guard veteran, and his attorney,
Bruce Fein, said they were “disgusted” by Attorney General Eric
Holder’s Friday letter to Russian officials promising that
Snowden would not face execution if he were extradited to the US.
According to the two, that letter reflected a mindset that
Snowden is presumed guilty, and that 30 years to life
imprisonment is considered a reasonable punishment.

"He sacrificed everything and
gained nothing," the elder Snowden told the AP.
"He's done what he's done. The
consequences are unavoidable, and I don't know if I can mitigate
those."

16:42 GMT: US Attorney General Eric Holder has promised
Moscow that Snowden will be given a fair trial, and will not be
tortured or sentenced to death. The pledge was made in a
diplomatic letter Holder sent earlier this week.

“The United States will not seek the death penalty for Mr.
Snowden should he return to the United States. The charges he
faces do not carry that possibility, and the United States would
not seek the death penalty even if Mr. Snowden were charged with
additional, death penalty-eligible crimes,” said the missive,
which was addressed to Russian Justice Minister Aleksandr
Konovalov.

In the letter, the US also promised that Snowden would receive a
public jury trial in the civil courts, and would not be subjected
to anything but “voluntary questioning” in the lead-up to his
trial.

“Mr. Snowden will not be tortured. Torture is unlawful in the
United States,” wrote the attorney general.

13:57 GMT: German President Joachim Gauck expressed
concern over NSA wiretapping, called for a binding international
agreement to safeguard civil rights, and said that whistleblowers
like Edward Snowden deserve “respect.”

“I never thought that the fear that secure communication was
no longer possible could ever arise in Germany again,” Gauck
said in an interview with the Passauer Neue Presse regional
newspaper, adding that he now has to question the safety of
talking on the phone and sending emails openly.

“We have to make sure that even our allies’ secret services
respect the boundaries we find necessary here. A binding
international agreement – if that was what was needed – should be
created urgently to safeguard civil rights,” the president
added, urging the German government to work on such
agreement.

Referring to Snowden, Gauck said: “Whoever brings information
to the public and acts on grounds of conscience deserves
respect.”

13:30 GMT: Russian security agency FSB is in talks with
its American counterpart the FBI over Edward Snowden, but Russia
has no plans to extradite the former NSA contractor to the US,
said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

“Russia has never extradited anyone, and will not
extradite,” Peskov stressed.

When asked if Snowden will continue harming the US if granted
asylum in Russia, and if the situation is going to undermine
Moscow’s ties with Washington, Peskov stressed that “the head
of state has expressed strong determination not to allow
this.”

09:00 GMT: Germany has announced its intention to update
UN data protection regulations in the wake of Edward Snowden
revelations. Some top officials are also calling for a suspension
of the data exchange treaty between Washington and the EU.
Skeptics, though, suspect it might be little more than general
election campaigning, as RT’s Peter Oliver reports from
Berlin.

08:00 GMT: Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, one of the
three Latin American leaders to offer asylum to Snowden,
exclusively told RT why the whistleblower would be welcome in his
country.

“I think the threats coming from the United States work
against them. It’s ridiculous. A power like the United States
threatening a young man who’s had enough courage to tell the
truth about something that went against his principles. A man who
realized at a certain point that he could cross the line of what
is called intelligence work. He understood where intelligence
ends and the lawlessness begins and that lawlessness has nothing
to do with secret operations or War on Terror or protecting the
state interests or with the search for scientific information. A
point when he saw that this is sheer madness, because it isn’t
normal, it’s not like the US are forcing the Europeans’ hand in
this. It’s just that they have something in common, common
positions, common strategy and the same desire for global
domination.“

Thursday, July 25

19:00 GMT: US district court in New York dismissed the
request by US Justice Department to delay hearings concerning a
lawsuit filed by American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), arguing
NSA surveillance program is unconstitutional. The court set a
schedule according to which motions must be filed by August 26
and oral arguments will begin on November 1.

18:00 GMT: US lawmakers voted to introduce trade or other
sanctions against any country offering asylum
to Edward Snowden.

It was initiated by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) who
earlier urged President Obama not to go to September's G20 summit
in Russia - and called for a boycott of Winter Olympics in Sochi.

“I don’t know if he’s going to stay in Russia forever. I don’t
know where he’s going to go... But I know this: That the right
thing to do is to send him back home so he can face charges for
the crimes he’s allegedly committed,” Graham said.

12:46 GMT: Google denies granting access to its data to
any governments, according to the company’s Vice-President of
Southern, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa
Carlo d'Asaro Biondo.

"We do not provide access to our systems to any governments
anywhere. We believe that the debate and discussion of the issue
of the protection of security data and private data is a very
important matter, and we believe that in a world that is
increasingly globalizing, assistance to various cultures to
better understand each other is a very noble task,” he said
after meeting Russian Senator Ruslan Gattarov, the head of the
investigative group over possible violations of Russian
legislation in the user agreement of the company.

"We heard this position, and are very pleased that we have
once again built a constructive dialogue with Google," said
Gattarov.

Wednesday, July 24

20:34 GMT: The NSA will continue collecting the phone data
of individuals not currently under investigation. The US House of
Representatives voted on Wednesday to reject an amendment
introduced by Rep. Justin Amash (R-Michigan) aimed to stop
domestic spying by the National Security Agency. The 205 to 217
vote in the House was preceded by a storm of lobbying by the
White House against the measure.

18:50 GMT: France denies having a surveillance program
similar to the NSA’s PRISM mass electronic surveillance data
mining program, according to the French General Directorate for
External Security (DGSE). "Allegations that the DGSE was
involved in surveillance of citizens are unjustified,"
Senator Jean-Pierre Sueur said in a statement. He referred to
reports published by Le Monde newspaper in July, which stated
that the French intelligence agency intercepts and analyzes all
email messages and text messages, as well as monitors social
networks and telephone conversations.

18:30 GMT: The White House says the US will be deeply
disappointed if Russia allows NSA leaker Edward Snowden, who is
wanted in America, to leave Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport.
“Any move that would allow Mr. Snowden to depart the airport
would be deeply disappointing," State Department spokeswoman
Jen Psaki told reporters. She added that US Secretary of State
John Kerry took part in a phone call with Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov. Psaki said the Obama administration wants
clarification of reports stating that Snowden may leave the
airport after his political asylum documents are issued.

17:55 GMT: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has been
awarded the "Whistleblower Prize" by the German branch of human
rights organization Transparency International. Established in
1999, the prize comes with 3,000 euros of prize money. It is
given to those who "reveal grave abuses and dangerous
developments for people and society, democracy, peace and the
environment in the public interest.” The organization’s
representatives say the award money will be passed on to Snowden.

14:20
GMT: Lawyer Anatoly Kucherena says Snowden's
asylum bid is still being reviewed by immigration authorities
and that the whistleblower will have to stay at Moscow
Sheremetyevo Airport, but confirmed that the NSA-leaker will
live in Russia. He assured that Snowden is staying in good
conditions.

However, Kucherena did not give any specific date when
documents should be issued. Asked about reasons for that, he
explained that the delay in issuing all necessary documents to
Snowden is due to the uniqueness of the situation.

13:55 GMT: Watch more from RT’s special coverage from
Sheremetyevo Airport:

12:36 GMT: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who has been
stranded at a Moscow airport since last month, is expected to be
issued his travel documents. Russia’s Immigration Service,
however, is declining to comment if such a paper has been issued
for Snowden. Lawyer Anatoly Kucherena is currently at Moscow’s
Sheremetyevo Airport, where the documents have reportedly been
brought.

11:06 GMT: Russia is surprised by US statements that there
are grounds for extradition of the NSA leaker Edward Snowden,
diplomatic sources told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.

"The Secretary of State said that in 2007-2012, the United
States gave us some 1,754 people and was ready to extradite
another 101 offenders. But when we contacted the State Department
and other US agencies with a request to provide comprehensive
lists, they only made a helpless gesture,” the source noted.

The source added that in Snowden’s case Washington has confused
routine extradition with deportation of foreigners who have
violated US laws.

Tuesday, July 23

21:22 GMT: An Iranian NGO named “Justice-Seekers without
Borders” has invited former CIA employee Edward Snowden to visit
Iran in order to reveal the details of the US intelligence
operations against Iran.

"Since one of the United States' illegal actions disclosed by
you is spying on the Iranian citizens, we invite you to visit
Iran and elaborate on the US administration's measures in this
regard in detail," the NGO said in a letter to Snowden.

‘Justice-Seekers without Borders’ expressed pleasure in the US
failure in detain Snowden, and stressed that the Iranian people
will remain beside those who fight for truth and pay the price
for their resistance, Fars reported.

Tehran slammed the US for conducting espionage operations against
Iran after Snowden’s revelations according to which Iran was the
country where the largest amount of intelligence was gathered.

"...Iran has always been one of the targets of the US
espionage operations and the US officials have repeatedly pointed
to this issue," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed
Abbas Araqchi said earlier this month. "This move is not
acceptable at all," he added.

Monday, July 22

17:30 GMT: RT has developed an interactive
map showing the countries being spied on, those aiding the US
in their surveillance operations, and those both being surveilled
and helping the US simultaneously.
15:50 GMT: Edward Snowden has expressed hope that he will be
granted documents which will allow him to leave the transit zone
of Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport by Wednesday, according to his
Russian lawyer who spoke to Reuters on Monday.

"He should get this certificate (allowing him to leave the
airport) shortly," Anatoly Kucherena said. Kucherena
helped the former NSA contractor file a request for temporary
asylum in Russia on July 16. If successful, Snowden will be able
to finally leave for the city center after a month-long stay at
Sheremetyevo which has strained US-Russian relations. His bid for
temporary asylum could take three months to process, but the
preliminary response to his request will allow him to leave
through customs.

Sunday, July 21

16:33 GMT: Der Speigel magazine has revealed German intelligence operated one of NSA’s
spying programs. Chancellor Angela Merkel had denied any previous
knowledge of NSA’s tactics, adding that she first learned about
them through the media.

Germany's foreign intelligence service, the BND, along with the
domestic intelligence agency the Federal Office for the
Protection of the Constitution (BfV), used American National
Security Agency’s (NSA) XKeyScore program, according to
Spiegel which claims to have seen the US intelligence
service’s secret documents.

Saturday, July 20

06:20 GMT Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega advised
Barack Obama to beware of the FBI, which might be spying on the
US President. "I tell President Obama to take care...for sure
they are spying on him," Ortega said during a speech to mark
the 34th anniversary of the Sandinista revolution.

Ortega extended his warning to other high-level officials in the
Obama Administration as well as lawmakers, saying there is
nothing new in the FBI keeping tabs on America’s top political
figures since the agency’s very first director J. Edgar Hoover
“spied on those who were candidates for the
Presidency”.

The FBI is filing dirty laundry on every American politician so
once a candidate wins the presidency, he has a talk with the FBI
chief, who reveals what dirt he has on the president-elect,
Ortega explained. This system of blackmail is why a new president
has no real power over the ‘intelligence apparatus’.

Ortega also slammed the US for its disproportionate reaction to
Edward Snowden's revelations.

"I wonder what else he [Snowden] knows? How much horrifying
information is there that they want to prosecute and convict him
in the US, where the death penalty is an option?" Ortega
asked

Wednesday, July 17

17:20 GMT: A recent poll carried out by 'All-Russian
Center for the Study of Public Opinion' showed that thirty nine
percent of Russians think that Russia should not extradite
Snowden to the US, while 18 percent believe Moscow has to hand
him over to Washington. Fifty nine percent out of 1, 500 people
questioned could identify the whistleblower.
According to the poll, twenty seven percent state that Russia
should grant political asylum to Snowden, twenty three are
against it, while every second respondent found it difficult to
answer this question.

13:15 GMT: Senator Lindsay Graham, suggestets that
the USA shoud boycott the winter Olympics in Sochi because of the
Edward Snowden affair. Several Russian MPs and members of
the country’s National Olympic Committee have harshly criticized
the senator's proposal and said they are sure that the US
authorities would ignore senator Grahams words.

"Graham: US should consider Olympic boycott over possible
#Snowden
asylum" Last boycott was re Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Irony? #tlot

09:10 GMT: According to Anatoly Kucherena, the lawyer
who is assisting Snowden, the whistleblower has no plans to
leave Russia yet and he doesn’t exclude the future
possibility of “asking for Russian citizenship.”

In an interview to RT , Snowden’s lawyer stressed that the
Russian decision to review the asylum request was based on the
“human rights” aspect of the issue, as the US still
administers capital punishment and torture.

“When asked a question by the FMS agent why he chose to file
a petition in Russia and why he came here, he replied that he
fears for his life and wellbeing, that he is also afraid of
torture, and that he could get executed.”

Snowden applied for a temporary asylum, and if the Russian
Migration Service rules in favor, then he will receive asylum
status for one year, Kucherena said adding that Snowden could
leave the confinement of the airport after he receives proper
paperwork, meaning that “he does not have to wait for a
final decision on his petition.”

08:25 GMT: Russian President Vladimir Putin said that
relations between Moscow and Washington are more important than
the intelligence service spat, especially regarding Snowden
affair. Putin reiterated the whistleblower was aware Moscow
would not tolerate any activity aimed to damage US-Russian
relations.

When asked how the Russian authorities would control the NSA
leaker’s activity, the President said , "I won’t give you
any details. We have warned Snowden that any activity of his
that could damage US-Russian relations is unacceptable for
us.”

08:04 GMT: The US has sent extradition requests for Edward
Snowden to Bolivia, Venezuela, Hong Kong, Ireland and Iceland,
WikiLeaks wrote via Twitter.

07:43 GMT: The White House has warned that Russian-US
relations could suffer if cooperation in the Snowden affair is
not forthcoming.

“The Russian government has an opportunity here to work with
us,” press secretary Jay Carney told reporters at his daily
briefing. “This should not be something that causes long-term
problems for U.S.-Russian relations.”

Tuesday, July 16

23:58 GMT:White
House officials made it clear Tuesday that the administration’s
frustration with Russia playing host to NSA whistleblower Edward
Snowden is mounting. Press Secretary Jay Carney said that, no
longer allowing Snowden to stay in the Moscow airport, Russia
could “resolve this situation that they have been dealing with
now for three weeks.”

He added, ominously, that that two countries been “engaging
on a number of important issues, both economic and security
issues, and we want to continue that relationship unimpeded by
this issue.”

“The Russian government has an opportunity here to work with
us,” Carney said. “This should not be something that
causes long-term problems for US-Russian relations.”

19:55 GMT: A long-serving United States senator Gordon
Humphrey has sent a letter of support to the NSA contractor,
according to correspondence published by the Guardian’s Glenn
Greenwald, saying “you have done the right thing in exposing
what I regard as massive violation of the United States
Constitution.”

19:41 GMT: Microsoft has asked US Attorney General for
more freedom to disclose how it handles requests from national
security organizations for customer data, the Corporation said.
It follows the Guardian newspaper report, citing Edward Snowden
leaked documents, that the world's largest software company
allowed US security agencies to break an encryption of Outlook
emails and capture Skype online chats, Reuters reports. Microsoft
said there were "significant inaccuracies" in media reports last
week and argued that it does not allow any government direct or
indirect access to customers' emails, instant messages or
data.

17:39 GMT: The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed a
lawsuit against the Obama administration concerning the NSA
surveillance program. The company’s attorneys are demanding the
White House stop the dragnet surveillance programs operated by
the NSA.

16:10 GMT: The mother of Konstantin Yaroshenko, the pilot
found guilty of conspiring to smuggle cocaine into the US and
sentenced by an American court to 20 years in prison, has asked
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to exchange Edward Snowden
for her son. Lubov Yaroshenko told RIA Novosti that she believed
that the US will agree to such an exchange, because America needs
Snowden more than her son.

“Why do we need this Snowden,” she said.

Lubov Yaroshenko believes that for Russia, Snowden will mean
deterioration of relations with the US. Earlier the leader
of the populist-nationalist party LDPR Vladimir Zhirinovsky
suggested the same exchange, but he said that Russia could ask to
return both Konstantin Yaroshenko and another Russian citizen
Viktor Bout, who is serving 25 years prison term for attempting
to sell heavy weapons to a Colombian terrorist group. Russia has
slammed sentences to both its citizens, calling the cases
“groundless” and “politically motivated” and vowed
to take measures to return the men home.

14:18 GMT: The multinational Internet corporation Yahoo!
has won a court case ordering the release of US intelligence
records in a bid to prove the firm attempted to resist handing
over customer data to be used in the NSA surveillance program
PRISM.

"The Government shall conduct a declassification review of
this Court's Memorandum Opinion of [Yahoo's case] and the legal
briefs submitted by the parties to this Court," the ruling
read.

13:00 GMT: The Russian Migration Service (FMS) confirmed
it has received whistleblower Edward Snowden’s application for temporary asylum. The FMS
promised to review his application within a three month
period. Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin has expressed
hope that Russian-US relations will develop in a positive manner
despite the latest development, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry
Peskov said.

09:33 GMT: The former NSA contractor Edward Snowden is
going to submit his application for asylum to Russia in the
upcoming days, said lawyer and Public Chamber member Anatoly
Kucherena.

Snowden will be able to submit the application in person as the
office of the Federal Migration Service is situated in the
transit zone of the Sheremetyevo Airport, where he has been holed
up for more than three weeks after the US government revoked his
passport shortly before departing for Moscow.

On July, 12, Kucherena, together with other human right
activists, met the whistleblower in Sheremetyevo Airport.
Kucherena, who consulted Snowden and provided legal aid to the
former NSA contractor regarding his asylum bid, continues to
actively support the whistleblower.

Monday, July 15

19:33 GMT: The people must join the likes of Edward
Snowden and Julian Assange in their fight against Big Brother if
they want to have some privacy in the future, software freedom
activist and founder of the Free Software Foundation, Richard
Stallman, said in an interview with RT’s SophieCo program.

“Thanks to Snowden, we know that in some cases, specifically
phone calls, the US government is actually doing this [digital
surveillance], and we know that there are other governments that
do surveillance without even the flimsy limits of the US
government – so I’m tremendously happy to see that Snowden has
called the public’s attention to this injustice, because our
cause now has more momentum. We might, maybe, be able to stop
this,” he said.<b>&lt;b&gt;&amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
12:30
GMT:&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;gt;&lt;/b&gt;</b>
Europe needs stronger data protection laws to win back the trust
of citizens damaged by the revelations of the NSA's PRISM and
other spying programs, EU Vice President Viviane Reding said at
DLDWomen, a conference bridging media, technology and women's
issues. Reding called the NSA-leak by whistle blower Edward
Snowden “a wakeup call” that will spark even stronger
regulations in Europe to protect personal data from government
surveillance.

“We do not want the US government to listen to every phone
call we make and read every email," Reding said. “Data
protection in Europe is a fundamental right… Strong rules allow
trust and, in the internet world, without trust you cannot go
ahead.”

“Big data can be big business only if the trust of the
consumers comes back,” she added.

12:15 GMT: Human Rights Watch Russia’s Tatyana
Lokshina says she has been getting flooded with letters of
support and offers of assistance for Edward Snowden, since being
part of a meeting between the whistleblower and Russian civil
society representatives.

“I have been inundated with letters from Snowden’s fans. One
man wrote to me that he is a re-location specialist, and has
asked me to pass his details onto Snowden.”

11:56 GMT: Germany's foreign intelligence agency (BND)
knew about US surveillance and used the data collected by
National Security Agency (NSA) to get information about Germans
kidnapped abroad, according to Bild daily. The paper’s sources in
the US government said the BND had requested the NSA for the
email and telephone records of German citizens kidnapped in Yemen
or Afghanistan to set their location. The problem became widely
discussed as German Chancellor Angela Merkel claimed during her
third re-election campaign that she had never known of NSA spying
on German citizens. A poll last week by the Forsa opinion
research institute indicated four out of five Germans think the
government deceived them by claiming it wasn’t aware of NSA
spying.

11:33 GMT: Edward Snowden has decided not to make public
"literally thousands of documents" that could “harm the
US government,” The Guardian newspaper columnist Glenn
Greenwald told AP. The disclosure of the information "would
allow somebody who read them to know exactly how the NSA does
what it does, which would in turn allow them to evade that
surveillance or replicate it," the columnist said. He
previously said the documents had been encrypted to help ensure
their safekeeping.

Sunday, July 14

19:44 GMT: The chairman of the US House of Representatives
Homeland Security Committee, Michael McCaul, urged the Obama
administration to exert "any and all pressure" on Russia -
including economic measures - to persuade Moscow to hand over
Edward Snowden.

The Republican congressman told Fox News Sunday that he believes
that Russia is "making a mockery" of US foreign policy,
extracting “more and more information” from the NSA leaker
on a daily basis.

He also accused Obama of failing to develop an acceptable
relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which has
prompted Russia to “thumb their nose at the United
States.”

19:40 GMT: German Chancellor Angela Merkel has refused to
compare US electronic surveillance revealed by Edward Snowden
last month with the activities of the defunct East German
security agency Stasi.

“Such comparisons only lead to a trivialization of what the
Stasi did to people,” the politician told Die Welt magazine.

The parallel has been widely drawn by German journalists and
politicians, and internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom collaborated
with visual artist Oliver Bienkowski to project the words 'United
Stasi of America' onto the walls of the American embassy in
Berlin earlier this week.

Saturday July 13

23:50 GMT: Bolivian President Evo Morales has said that
the US government has access to the correspondence of top
authorities in his country, adding that he has shut down his own
email.

"Those US intelligence agents have accessed the emails of our
most senior authorities in Bolivia,” Morales said in a speech
at the Mercosur regional summit in Montevideo.

"It was recommended to me that I not use email, and I've
followed suit and shut it down," he said.

Speaking at the summit, Argentine Foreign Minister Hector
Timerman also said that more than 100 of his country's officials
were under electronic surveillance from a nation he did not name.

07:47 GMT: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said
that to obtain political asylum in Russia, former-CIA employee
Edward Snowden must apply to the Federal Migration Service (FMS).
"Russian laws require a certain procedure, and the first step
is to appeal to the Federal Migration Service," Lavrov told
the journalists on Saturday.
"We are not in contact with Snowden; the issues that he discussed
with the Russian activists yesterday were widely covered by the
media, and I learned from them just like anyone else," he
added.

08:08 GMT: Edward Snowden has not appealed to the Russian
Migration Service for asylum, the head of the organization,
Konstantin Romodanovsky, told Interfax on Saturday. "To date,
there have been no appeals submitted by Snowden yet. If an
application arrives, it will be considered in accordance with the
law," Romodanovsky added.

03:49 GMT: In accordance with Russia’s stipulation for
granting Snowden temporary asylum, the NSA whistleblower has
indicated he is willing to stop leaking documents that would
'damage the US.' Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who has been in
contact with Snowden and was the first to publish the
disclosures, has said he still has yet to publish all of the
information the former NSA contractor turned over.

“There are many, many more
domestic stories coming, and big ones, and soon,” Greenwald
wrote in an email to Politico on Friday. “I’d deal with that
hypothetical only in the extremely unlikely event that it ever
happened, but I can’t foresee anything that would or could stop
me from further reporting on the NSA documents I
have.”

03:48 GMT:South American countries belonging to the
Mercosur trade bloc have announced they will withdraw their
ambassadors for consultations from European countries involved in
the grounding of the Bolivian president’s plane, which came after
a US ambassador told several countries he thought Snowden was
aboard. The decision to recall European ambassadors was agreed
upon by Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, Argentina’s
President Cristina Fernandez, Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff,
and Uruguay’s President Jose Mujica during a summit meeting on
July 12.

Friday, July 12

19:00 GMT: Russia’s
pro-Snowden activists came out to demonstrate against US secret
eavesdropping methods and the hunt for the whistleblower.

18:20 GMT: South America’s leading trade bloc Mercosur
responded to recent allegations of US spying in the region by
issuing a statement rejecting telephone bugging and Internet
espionage as a violation of human rights, Reuters reports.

18:18 GMT: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi
Pillay, has made her first comment on the Snowden case.

She said people need to be sure their communications are not
being unduly scrutinized, and called on all countries to respect
the right to seek asylum.

“While concerns about national security and criminal activity
may justify the exceptional and narrowly-tailored use of
surveillance programs, surveillance without adequate safeguards
to protect the right to privacy actually risk impacting
negatively on the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental
freedoms,” Pillay stated, as quoted by Reuters.

17:20 GMT: President Barack Obama will speak with Russian
President Vladimir Putin later Friday, White House spokesman Jay
Carney said. The phone call has been scheduled for several days.
According to Carney, the Obama administration has been
communicating with different nations, letting them know that the
US would like Snowden to be returned to face charges in the
United States, Reuters reports.

17:18 GMT: Washington says that Russia granting political
asylum to Snowden would be on par with providing the NSA leaker
with a “propaganda platform” to further harm the US.

White House spokesperson Jay Carney said the administration’s
position on the whistleblower remains the same, believing that
Snowden should be extradited to the US to face charges of
espionage.

“We simply explained our position on Snowden to a
representative of Human Rights Watch,” a source at the US
Department of State told Interfax.

15:21 GMT: Prior to the Friday meeting, the American
Embassy in Moscow called some of the meeting’s participants,
asking them to deliver the US position to Snowden, Public Chamber
member Olga Kostina told journalists. Washington considers
Snowden to be a law violator rather than a rights advocate, she
said.

Human Rights Watch representative Tatyana Lokshina said she was
also contacted via telephone on behalf of the US Ambassador to
Moscow.

“I consider Edward Snowden a human rights activist, who
advocates for the rights of millions and millions of people in
the whole world,” he said, as cited by Interfax.

The Duma speaker noted that in the US – which has been demanding
the NSA leaker’s extradition – Snowden could face the death
penalty.

“We simply have no right to permit that,” Naryshkin added.

14:26 GMT: If Snowden is given political asylum in Russia,
the relations between Moscow and Washington are likely to worsen,
political analyst Dmitry Babich told RT.

“Certainly it will have a negative impact. But any
objective observer can notice Russia did not want this scandal.
Russia did not want to have one more impediment in these
relations with the US,” he said.

14:24 GMT: WikiLeaks website is to publish on Friday
evening Edward Snowden’s address to human rights
activists and lawyers he made earlier in the day at the
Sheremetyevo Airport.

14:01 GMT: Edward Snowden has agreed to Moscow’s condition
to stop activities harming the US, says Russian lawmaker
Vyacheslav Nikonov, who took part in Moscow the meeting with the
former CIA employee.

“He said he is aware of that condition and it would be easy
for him to accept it. He is not going to harm the US because he
is a patriot of his country,” Nikonov told journalists after
the gathering.

Tatyana Lokshina of Human Rights Watch, answering a journalist’s
question if Snowden has any more revelations replied: “He says
that his job is done.”

13:59 GMT: The NSA leaker has already written a request
for political asylum in Russia, and Russian law allows it to be
granted, says the head of the Public Chamber’s commission Anatoly
Kucherena. The lawyer added he is going to assist Snowden with
his bid.

13:43 GMT: Kremlin has not yet received Edward’s Snowden
application for political asylum in Russia, president Putin’s
press secretary Dmitry Peskov says. The conditions remain the
same though, he added. Earlier, Putin said that Russia would
grant the NSA leaker asylum if he stops activities aimed at
“harming our American partners.”

13:24 GMT: Snowden announces he is going to ask for
political asylum in Russia, says a participant of the meeting
between the NSA leaker and rights advocates at the Moscow
Sheremetyevo Airport, as cited by RIA Novosti.

“He wants to stay here until he can fly to Latin America,”
Tatyana Lokshina of Human Rights Watch told Interfax. During the
meeting, he asked the rights advocates to help him with the bid.

13:03 GMT: Edward Snowden is meeting with rights advocates
and lawyers. The gathering is taking place behind closed doors at
Sheremetyevo’s Terminal F transit zone, reports Itar-Tass.
Thirteen representatives of public organizations are
participating, according to the airport’s press service.

12:59 GMT: Rights advocates and lawyers are being taken to
the meeting with Edward Snowden at Sheremetyevo Airport.

“We were taken to the airfield and got on a bus,” Tatyana
Lokshina of Human Rights Watch told Interfax.

12:15 GMT: Russian and international human rights
advocates and lawyers are gathering at Moscow Sheremetyevo
Airport for a meeting with Snowden, which is scheduled for 5pm
Moscow time (13:00 GMT). The NSA leaker is expected to speak out
about the US persecution campaign.

Rights advocates, including representatives of Amnesty
International, Transparency International, Human Rights Watch and
other organizations, as well as well-known Russian lawyers,
agreed to meet with the former CIA employee.

02:30 GMT: A two-day
US-China summit in Washington took a surprising turn when a US
senior official used the opportunity to voice his disappointment
with China regarding whistleblower Edward Snowden. The former CIA
employee was allowed to fly out of Hong Kong despite a US
extradition request.

"We were disappointed with how
the authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong handled the Snowden
case, which undermined our effort to build the trust needed to
manage difficult issues," US Deputy Secretary of State
Bill Burns said.

China’s State Councilor, Yang Jiechi, responded by saying that
Hong Kong’s actions had been in accordance with the law.

“Its approach is beyond
reproach,” Jiechi said of Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous
territory of the Chinese mainland.

Snowden fled Hong Kong for Moscow on June 23. At the time, Hong
Kong authorities explained that despite a US request for a
provisional arrest warrant, "there [was] no legal basis to restrict Mr.
Snowden from leaving Hong Kong."

Thursday, July 11

Snowden has to “ratify his wish to take asylum in
Venezuela,” which should be followed by negotiations with the
Russian government “to make the asylum possible,” Jaua
previously said.

09:21 GMT: Millions of government employees will now be
forced to spy on their colleagues for whistleblower tendencies -
that's according to the 'Insider Threat Program', President
Obama's initiative, which causes concerns, even among the
officials, RT’s Gayane Chichakyan reported.

05:31 GMT: For the first time, German Chancellor Angela
Merkel spoke about the NSA spying scandal to German weekly Die
Zeit, stressing that the work of intelligence agencies is
essential to the safety of citizens.

She also sharply rejected comparisons of the US surveillance
program with East German spying methods.

Preventing terrorist attacks is not possible "without the
possibility of telecommunications monitoring," she told the
weekly. "The work of intelligence agencies in democratic
states was always vital to the safety of citizens and will remain
so in the future."

04:37 GMT: Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto indicated
that if allegations were proven that the United States had spied
on its southern neighbor, it would be "totally unacceptable."

02:40 GMT: The US Air
Force has concluded that Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH), the
contractor that employed Edward Snowden prior to his becoming a
whistleblower, is not responsible for the disclosure of the
classified information. As such, the firm will not be prevented
from working on Pentagon projects in the future.

Booz Allen notified the Air Force of Snowden’s activities under
an administrative agreement the contractor had signed in the wake
of another ethics lapse in 2012. However, the determination now
made by the Air Force allows the company to continue working with
the Pentagon.

"At this time ... there is no
evidence that at the time of Mr. Snowden's misconduct, BAH knew
or should have known, approved, or acquiesced in Snowden's
misconduct," an Air Force official told Reuters.

In 2012 the Air Force had proposed banning a San Antonio Booz
Allen office as well as several current and former employees from
new government work following an incident in which a new hire
from the Air Force shared sensitive data.

Booz Allen Hamilton generated $5.76 billion in revenues, mainly
through government work, in the year ending March 31, a drop of
just under 2 per cent from the year earlier. The Air Force is so
far the first government agency to clear BAH in the Snowden case.

Wednesday, July 10

15:20 GMT: Snowden denied media claims of giving any
classified information to the Chinese or Russian governments, the
Guardian reports. He also denied assumptions that information was
‘drained’ from his laptops by those governments.

"I never gave any information to either government, and they
never took anything from my laptops," he said as quoted by
the newspaper.

15:16 GMT: WikiLeaks’ major sponsor said that donations to
the company surged to $1,285 a day, or about three times the rate
before Snowden’s emergence, after the group offered financial
support to the NSA whistleblower, according to Bloomberg.
Contributions since have slid, says the Hamburg-based Wau Holland
Foundation, main collector of the company’s funds.

03:40 GMT: Edward Snowden will likely accept political
asylum in Venezuela to escape prosecution in the United States
for disclosing secret widespread government surveillance,
according to Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who published the
NSA documents and remains in contact with the fugitive
whistleblower.

While Greenwald noted Snowden has not yet officially accepted
Venezuela’s offer, it does appear to be the country most likely
to guarantee him safe travel from the Moscow airport, where he
has remained in hiding in recent weeks. Greenwald told Reuters a
final resolution to the international dilemma could take
“days or hours or weeks” to ultimately unfold.

Tuesday, July 9

18:30 GMT: Edward Snowden has not formally accepted asylum
in Venezuela, according to Wikileaks. An earlier Twitter post by
a senior Russian law maker caused a media frenzy, stating that
Snowden had accepted Venezuela's offer of political asylum.

WikiLeaks said that countries which are making decisions
regarding Snowden’s political asylum "will make the
announcement if and when the appropriate time comes.”

The states concerned will make the announcement if and when the
appropriate time comes. The announcement will then be confirmed
by us.

00:05 GMT: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has confirmed that his country received an
official request for asylum from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden
on Monday.

“We received a letter requesting asylum” from Snowden,
revealed Maduro, during a press conference prior to a meeting
with Panama’s president, Ricardo Martinelli.

Snowden "will need to decide when he will fly here," added
the Venezuelan head of state.

Monday, July 8

23:20 GMT: The Guardian has published the
second part of the Snowden interview that drew international
attention. It was carried out on June 6 in a Hong Kong hotel. In
it, Edward Snowden explains that he is motivated, firstly, by
patriotism and that he regards America as a good country at its
core. However, he explained that it could no longer provide the
kind of freedoms it initially promised, and predicted the smear
campaign that would follow his actions.

"I think they are going to say I have committed grave crimes,
I have violated the Espionage Act. They are going to say I have
aided our enemies in making them aware of these systems. But this
argument can be made against anyone who reveals information that
points out mass surveillance systems."

Being part of a generation that grew up without a feeling of
being constantly watched online, Snowden expressed his distrust
for the current state of affairs:

"They are getting everyone's calls, everyone's call records
and everyone's internet traffic as well," he said of the NSA.

He also shed light on US’s surveillance system – Boundless
Informant – as another big reason why he chose to leak government
documents and change his outlook on the US role in world affairs.

"The NSA lied about the existence of this tool to Congress and
to specific congressmen in response to previous inquiries about
their surveillance activities."

19:40 GMT: Edward Snowden has disclosed his first set of
documents outlining Australia’s role in NSA surveillance
programs, picking out four facilities in the country that
contribute heavily to US spying.

Australian centers involved in the NSA’s data collection program,
codenamed X-Keyscore, include Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap in
central Australia and three Australian Signals Directorate
facilities: the Shoal Bay Receiving Station in the country’s
north, the Australian Defence Satellite Communications Facility
on the west coast, and the naval communications station HMAS
Harman outside the capital, Canberra.

17:08 GMT: Bolivia has demanded the ambassadors from
France, Spain, Portugal and Italy provide an explanation, why
those countries thought that NSA leaker Edward Snowden was on
President Evo Morales’ flight from Moscow last week, Reuters
reports. Bolivian communications minister, Amanda Davila, has
called the fact that the four European countries banned Morales'
plane from their airspace an act of “state terrorism" by
the United States and its allies.
"We are simply asking the government of Spain and the other
governments, of course, to clarify and explain where that version
of Mr Snowden being on the presidential plane came from. Who
spread that fallacy, that lie?" he explained.

Davila said his country’s government believes the US knew that
Snowden wasn’t on the plane, but simply wanted to intimidate
Morales, who has since offered the whistleblower unconditional
asylum.

13:50 GMT: Nicaragua’s Moscow embassy has received Edward
Snowden’s application for asylum, according to Russian news
agency RIA Novosti. The fugitive US whistleblower said he would
be “unlikely to receive a fair trial” in his home country in his
explanatory letter addressed to president Daniel Ortega, made
public on Saturday.

“We have received the formal documents,” an embassy
official told journalists.

09:16 GMT: Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega says his
country would provide political asylum for Edward Snowden "if
circumstances permit".

04:15 GMT: Cuba's Raul Castro has
backed countries offering asylum to Edward Snowden, while not
stating outright whether the country would either itself be
offering him asylum or would allow the safe transit of the
whistleblower as he passed through en route to other Latin
American countries.

"We support the sovereign right of .... Venezuela and all
states in the region to grant asylum to those persecuted for
their ideals or their struggles for democratic rights,"
Castro said in a speech to Cuba's national assembly, broadcast on
state television.

Bolivia and
Venezuela
both offered asylum to Snowden over the weekend, with Nicaragua
also considering his request. There are no direct commercial
flights from Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport to South America, and
Snowden would have to change flights in Havana, Cuba.
03:43 GMT: Rallies in support of Edward Snowden
have taken place across Australia as activists demanded more
privacy protection from government and freedom for the former NSA
analyst. Demonstrations took place in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane
and Perth and attracted hundreds of supporters. The protesters
blame media outlets and politicians for attacking Snowden,
instead of focusing on protecting internet users’ right to
privacy.

01:30 GMT: Venezuela says it has not
had a reply from the NSA leaker, Edward Snowden after the
country’s President Nicolas Maduro offered him asylum on Friday.
"We are waiting until Monday to know whether he ratifies his
wish to take asylum in Venezuela," Foreign Minster Elias Jaua
told state television as “there has not been any type of
communication” from Snowden who is now stuck in Moscow after
US revoked his passport.

Sunday, July 7

15:30
GMT: Bolivian President Evo Morales said that he would grant
Snowden asylum if he made the request, Reuters reported. The
offer was posed shortly after two other leftist Latin American
leaders said that they would be prepared to accommodate the
former NSA-contractor.

While attending
an energy conference in Russia earlier this week, Morales told RT
that he would consider granting asylum to Snowden if the request
was made.

“If there were a request, of course we would be
willing to debate and consider the idea,” said Morales,
speaking to RT Spanish, while stating that Snowden had not
requested political asylum from his country at that point.

12:45 GMT: US has issued Snowden’s extradition request to Venezuela, demanding that the
whistleblower be “arrested” if he “travels to” or
“transits through” Venezuela and “be kept in custody” for
“the purpose of extradition”.

00:11 GMT: Venezuela's president
Maduro says he has decided to offer asylum to US NSA- leaker
Edward Snowden, Reuters reports.

"I have decided to offer humanitarian asylum to the young
American, Edward Snowden, so that in the fatherland of (Simon)
Bolivar and (Hugo) Chavez, he can come and live away from the
imperial North American persecution," Maduro told a televised
parade marking Venezuela's independence day.

Saturday, July 6

23:34 GMT: Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega said on
Friday that he had received an asylum request from US NSA-leaker
Edward Snowden and could accept the bid "if circumstances
permit."

"We are open, respectful of the right to asylum, and it is
clear that if circumstances permit it, we would receive Snowden
with pleasure and give him asylum here in Nicaragua," Ortega
said at a public event.

16:27 GMT: Edward Snowden has applied to another six
states for political asylum, WikiLeaks reported. In an effort to
avoid US interference, the six nations were not
disclosed.

Edward #Snowden
has applied to another six countries for asylum. They will not
be named at this time due to attempted US interference.

15:12 GMT: UK and Sweden have vetoed the discussion of
traditional spying by the US on EU members during upcoming talks
in Washington. Originally the EU envisaged two working groups -
reports the Guardian - one discussing NSA and PRISM, and the
other more traditional methods of espionage, but the two
objectors said the EU had no authority to discuss matters of
national security, particularly since policies differ widely
among various member states. "Intelligence matters and those
of national security are not the competence of the EU,"
summed up José Manuel Barroso, the European commission president.

11:57 GMT: German Blush lingerie brand has decided to take
advantage of the hype surrounding Edward Snowden, issuing a
series of ads in which the whistleblower is mentioned. In one of
them, the company offers him asylum in Berlin, promising that a
“bed and champagne” is waiting for the NSA leaker upon
arrival. Another ad features the slogan “Dear Edward Snowden,
there’s still a lot to uncover" next to a female model in
sexy underwear.
"We highly sympathize with what Snowden did," said Johannes
Krempl, director of Glow Advertising agency. "We owe him so
much, and that's why we thought we have to do something to
express our feelings towards him and thank him, and that's why we
came up with this ad for Blush in support of his deeds."

<b>&lt;b&gt;&amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
09:45
GMT:&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;gt;&lt;/b&gt;</b>07:48 GMT: The US government has issued an arrest warrant
for Edward Snowden to the Irish government. The request has been
sent as a pre-emptive strike against Snowden’s potential attempt
to fly to Havana, Cuba on a commercial flight which has a
stopover in Shannon, Ireland for refueling.

06:35 GMT: The proposal
to give Snowden Icelandic citizenship received limited support in
Parliament on Thursday, the last day before summer recess, with
only six members of minority parties in favor out of parliament's
63 members.

Saturday, July 6

Venezuela would be the best asylum for former CIA officer
Snowden, Russia’s State Duma

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman said.

"Asylum for Snowden in Venezuela would be the best
solution," Aleksey Pushkov wrote on his Twitter account.
"That country is in acute conflict with the United States and
this can't make things worse."

"He can't live at Sheremetyevo [Airport in Moscow] after
all," he added.

It's believed the whistleblower has remained in the transit zone
of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport for over two weeks.

Friday, July 5

21:17 GMT: A short movie on NSA leaker Edward Snowden has
been filmed by a group of independent filmmakers in Hong Kong.
Called “Verax,” or the truth teller in Latin, the 5-minute film
has already been viewed over 130,000 times on YouTube.

Creators say the $600 budget movie was made in less than a week
at the time Snowden was still in Hong-Kong.

The film depicts Snowden’s time spent in a Hong Kong hotel room
while hiding from the intelligence services. The film also shows
the Snowden-alike protagonist solving a Rubik's cube – an object
he reportedly identifies with.

15:19 GMT: Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino says Rome
cannot support Snowden's request for Asylum. She stated that any
request would have to be presented in person at the border or on
Italian territory, which Snowden had not done.

"As a result there do not exist the legal conditions to accept
such a request which in the government's view would not be
acceptable on a political level either," she said.

Snowden has applied for asylum in 21 countries.

14:34 GMT: EU Parliament has voted to scrap two agreements
granting the US access to European financial and travel data,
unless Washington reveals the full extent of its spying on
Europe.

13:20 GMT: EU lawmakers on Thursday demanded 'immediate
clarification' of US spying on EU offices and warned the scandal
could damage trans-Atlantic relations. Lawmakers however rejected
a call for the postponement of talks on a EU-US trade deal, which
are due to start on Monday.

12:44 GMT: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has
rejected an order for the extradition of former CIA employee
Edward Snowden live on Venezuelan state channel Telesur.

11:53 GMT: Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden has not
applied for political asylum in Russia so it is not in Moscow’s
power to decide his destiny, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated.
“As of today, Russia has not received an application from Mr.
Snowden for political asylum. We believe that without his
determined personal decision in one direction or another, without
his exact understanding of what is better for him, what solution
he considers to be the optimal one, we are unable to decide for
him. That's all that can be said currently,” Russian Deputy
Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told journalists.

10:05 GMT: “Snowden, will you marry me?” Russian 'femme
fatale' Anna Chapman asks via twitter. The red-haired tabloid
darling came to world prominence after the spy scandal with ten
Russians sleeper agents arrested in the US in June 2010. They
were expelled from American soil after being traded on July 9 for
four American spies serving jail terms in Russia, in what was the
biggest prisoner swap since the fall of the Iron Curtain. After
returning to Russia, Chapman has been enjoying an active media
life and hosting a program on “Mysteries of the World” Russian
REN TV channel.

9:13 GMT: The Bolivian government has rejected the
American extradition request for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden
as “baseless and illegal.”

"The bizarre, legally baseless and unusual request for the
extradition of a person who is not on the territory of the state
in question, will be returned to the United States
immediately," said a foreign ministry statement.

The Ministry stressed that Morales had at no point “met
with President Morales in Russia, nor did he get on the plane,
nor is he presently on Bolivian territory"

5:02 GMT: The Bolivian President’s plane has finally
landed in La Paz following its detention for over 13 hours in
Vienna’s airport. The presidential craft made two stops during
its journey in Brazil and the Canary Islands. President Evo
Morales was greeted by a throng of supporters at the airport, who
brandished banners and voiced their solidarity. The Bolivian
leader addressed the crowd, declaring: “they will never
intimidate us! They will never scare us!”

Thursday, July 4

16:15 GMT: Protesters burn a French flag outside the
French embassy in La Paz. Bolivian officials accused France,
Portugal, Italy and Spain of denying entry to the President's jet
late Tuesday over "unfounded rumors" Snowden was traveling on
board.

15:08 GMT: Ecuador's President Rafael Correa has asked
that the Unasur group of South American nations call an urgent
meeting over travel restrictions placed on Bolivian President Evo
Morales by France and Portugal, Unasur's secretary general said
in a statement on Wednesday.

10:47 GMT:“An act of aggression and violation of
international law” is how Bolivia’s UN envoy described Austria’s decision to
search the Bolivian presidential jet for NSA leaker Edward
Snowden. The envoy has pledged to make an official complaint to
the UN.

Envoy Sacha Llorentty Soliz told press in New York that he had no
doubt the decision to search the plane originated from the US.

10:39 GMT: France wants a temporary two week suspension of EU-US free trade talks in the light of
the looming scandal over the US National Security Agency’s
alleged spying on 38 embassies, including America’s NATO European
allies. "It's not a question of halting the negotiations,"
French government spokeswoman Najat Vallaud-Belkacem noted, but
“On the other hand, it would seem wise to us to suspend them
for a couple of weeks to avoid any controversy and have the time
to obtain the information we've asked for,” he
said.

8:51 GMT: The Austrian authorities searched Morales’ plane
for Edward Snowden, but found no stowaways on board, Austria’s
deputy chancellor has said.

8:42 GMT: Spain has authorized Bolivia’s presidential jet
to pass through its airspace and continue its journey to Bolivia,
the Austrian President has said. The plane was grounded in
Austria Wednesday morning over suspicions that Edward Snowden was
on board.

The Austrian President, Heinz Fischer, announced that the
Bolivian presidential jet will be on its way to La Paz
"shortly" following a meeting with President Evo Morales.
President Morales has spent 11 hours in the airport in Vienna
waiting to resume his journey.

03:00 GMT: French
officials have stated that technical problems prevented one of
their airports from accepting president Evo Morales’ flight from
landing. The Bolivian leader was en route from Russia following
his attendance at a summit of major gas-exporting nations in
Moscow.

According to the Associated Press, Foreign Minister David
Choquehuanca has rejected any claims that the plane carrying the
Bolivian head of state was denied entry over France and Portugal
for anything other than political reasons.

"They say it was due to
technical issues, but after getting explanations from some
authorities we found that there appeared to be some unfounded
suspicions that Mr. Snowden was on the plane ... We don't know
who invented this lie," said Choquehuanca.

While attending the energy conference in Russia this week,
Morales told RT that he would consider granting asylum to Snowden
if the request was made.

"It is possible that they want
to intimidate us due to the statement made by President Morales
that we would analyze an asylum request from Mr. Snowden,"
said Defense Minister Ruben Saavedra.

"We have the suspicion that
[France and Portugal] were used by a foreign power, in this case
the United States, as a way of intimidating the Bolivian state
and President Evo Morales."

Saavedra confirmed that Italy had also denied Bolivia’s aircraft
entry into its airspace. The Bolivian president meanwhile is
spending the night at a hotel in Vienna.

01:08 GMT:Austrian ministry officials have confirmed
that Snowden was not on Morales’ plane, AFP
reported.

00:41 GMT:Imprisoned former CIA officer John
Kiriakou has written a letter supporting Snowden’s decision to
leak information about the massive surveillance apparatus
employed by the US. Kiriakou was the first CIA officer to
publicly acknowledge that torture treated as legal under former
president George W. Bush. He was convicted in October 2012 of
disclosing the name of an officer who worked in the CIA’s
Rendition, Detention, and Interrogation program to a reporter and
sentenced to thirty months behind bars earlier this
year.

Kiriakou, in his second note published by Firedog Lake, advised
Snowden to “find the best national security attorneys money
can buy,” while recommending the American Civil Liberties
Union and Government Accountability Project as two potential
leads.

“You’re going to need the support of prominent Americans and
groups who can explain to the public why what you did is so
important,” Kiriakou wrote, while adding that the “most
important advice” he can offer is to “not, under any
circumstances, cooperate with the FBI.”

00:07 GMT: The
Bolivian Chamber of Deputies, the country’s national legislature,
expressed solidarity with President Evo Morales after his plane
from Moscow was diverted away from French and Portuguese airspace
because of a rumor that Edward Snowden was onboard.

“This is a lie, a falsehood. It was generated by the US
government,” Bolivian Defense Minister Ruben Saavedra told.
“It t is an outrage. It is an abuse. It is a violation of
the conventions and agreements of international air
transportation.”

Ecuador also suggested an emergency meeting of the Union of
South American Nations (Unasur) after the incident Tuesday.

Wednesday, July 3

22:24 GMT: A Bolivian Minister has announced that
Morales’ plane was forced to re-route on the suspicion that
Snowden was on board, according to the Associated Press.

22:21 GMT:After
departing from Russia the plane of Bolivian President Evo Morales
was forced to make an emergency landing in Austria. Bolivian
authorities denied rumors that Edward Snowden was on board,
though the fugitive whistleblower did send a political asylum
request to Bolivia that has yet to be answered; he also
petitioned Austria but was rejected.

Reports indicated the plane made previous attempts to land in
France and Portugal but was denied because of the possibility
that Snowden was on board.

17:53 GMT: Snowden's father has written an open letter to him extolling him for "summoning
the American people to confront the growing danger of
tyranny." Snowden's father has expressed concern that
WikiLeaks supporters who have been helping his son seek asylum
may not have his best interests at heart. The father has said
he'd like his son to return to the U.S. under the right
circumstances.

14:43 GMT: In his asylum request to Poland, Snowden said
that he risks facing the death penalty if he returns to the US.

"In any case, this young man must be protected in terms of
international and humanitarian law. He has a right to be
protected, because he is being pursued be the US. By its
president, vice president, by the secretary of State. Why is he
being pursued?What kind of crime has he committed? Has he
launched a missile and killed anyone? Has he planted a bomb and
killed anyone? No, he hasn’t. On the contrary, he is doing
everything to prevent wars, to prevent any kind of illegal action
against the whole world. Venezuela hasn't so far received an
asylum request from Snowden - when we get it we are ready to
consider it," Maduro told journalists in Moscow on Tuesday.

14:07 GMT: According to Wikileaks, Snowden has received
asylum rejections from Poland, Finland, India, and Brazil.
Applications made to Austria, Ecuador, Norway, and Spain are only
valid if made on the countries' home soils. Venezuela says it is
willing to consider an asylum request from Snowden.

Snowden gave up on his initial request to stay in Russia, after
President Putin said his asylum bid was contingent on his
cessation of “anti-American activity," according to
presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

13:35 GMT: Italy's Foreign Ministry said in a statement
that Snowden's asylum application was not filed correctly because
Snowden would have to be on Italian soil for it to be valid.
Furthermore, his application was received by fax, which is not
allowed under Italian law.

12:40 GMT: Brazil has refused the asylum request from NSA
leaker Edward Snowden, a spokesperson for the Brazilian Ministry
of Foreign Affairs has said in a statement.

12:25 GMT: Poland, America’s most faithful ally in Eastern
Europe, has announced it is going to demand explanations from
Washington over NSA surveillance of Polish diplomats in EU
facilities and the country’s embassy in the US. "We will
demand an explanation for NSA (US National Security Agency)
actions towards Poland and the EU," Polish Foreign Minister
Radoslaw Sikorski wrote in a Twitter post.

10:36 GMT: India has rejected Snowden’s application for
political asylum, stating they have “no reason” to accede
to the request.

"Indian Embassy in Moscow did receive a request for asylum in
a communication dated 30 June from Mr Edward Snowden," Syed
Akbaruddin, a spokesman for India's foreign ministry, said on
Twitter.

10:00 GMT: Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel
Garcia-Margallo knows nothing of an asylum request from Edward
Snowden, but has reiterated statements made by other states that
an asylum application is only valid when made on Spanish soil.

"For an asylum petition to become a petition that the
government could study, in other words for it to be legally
admissible, it has to be made by a person who is in Spain,"
Reuters cites Garcia-Margallo as saying.

09:00 GMT: Finnish asylum cannot be requested from abroad,
according to Keijo Norvanto, Head of the Unit for Communications
at Finland’s Foreign Ministry.

“We can confirm that we received the request. But we cannot
consider it official. To officially seek political asylum,
Snowden must first come to Finland and go to the police or
migration service. But in this case the request procedure was
violated, so the appeal is not going to be considered,”
ITAR-TASS news agency cites Norvanto as saying.

08:30 GMT: Snowden’s request for asylum was handed over to
the Austrian embassy in Moscow on Monday, but it can only be
submitted in Austria directly, APA news agency cites the
country’s Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner, as saying. When
asked by journalists if Snowden could be extradited once in
Austria, the Minister answered that no international arrest
warrant had been issued for the whistleblower.

08:00 GMT: Edward Snowden gave up on his initial request
to stay in Russia, after President Putin said his asylum bid was
contingent on his cessation of “anti-American activity”,
said presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov. The
whistleblower continues to remain in the transit zone of the
Sheremetyevo airport and has never crossed the Russian border,
Peskov continued. He reiterated that Russian intelligence had
never worked with the whistleblower, nor had Snowden ever been a
Russian intelligence agent. Peskov stressed Russia will never
hand over anyone to a country where capital punishment is
enforced.

00:00 GMT: In a statement released through
WikiLeaks, Snowden thanked his supporters and decried the Obama
administration’s method of trying to intimidate countries that
would consider granting him political asylum.

“For decades the United States of America [has] been one of
the strongest defenders of the human right to seek asylum,”
Snowden wrote. “Sadly, this right laid out and voted for by
the US in Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, is now being rejected by the current government of my
country. The Obama administration has now adopted the strategy of
using citizenship as a weapon."

"Although I am convicted of nothing," the statement continues,
"it has unilaterally revoked my passport, leaving me in a
stateless person. Without any judicial order, the administration
now seeks to stop me [from] exercising a basic right. A right
that belongs to everybody. The right to seek asylum.”

We will shortly release further details in relation to Edward
Snowden's asylum application, including some of the countries
involved.

Tuesday, July 2

18:30 GMT: Speaking to RT Spanish, Bolivian president
Evo Morales has said that Edward Snowden has not requested
political asylum from his country.

“If there were a request, of course we would be willing to
debate and consider the idea,”said Morales.

The president further
explained that Bolivia was prepared to “assist” the
whistleblower.

“Why not? Well, he’s left
much to be discussed … and a debate on the international level,
and of course, Bolivia is there to shield the denounced, whether
it’s espionage or control, in either case, we are here to
assist.”

16:00 GMT: US President Barack Obama said Washington and
Moscow had held high level discussions regarding the issue of
fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden, adding that he hoped
Russia would help resolve the issue on the basis of international
standards.

Obama, noting that the US does not have an extradition treaty
with Russia, said that Snowden had arrived in the country without
a valid passport, and hoped Moscow would thus make a decision
which was on par with the regular protocols of international
travel and cooperation between law enforcement agencies.

Obama would not confirm reports that law enforcement agencies in
both countries had been ordered to find a solution regarding
Snowden.

15:32 GMT: Edward Snowden has not applied for asylum in
Russia, according to the Russian Immigration Service.

The statement comes after a New
York Times report which cited "a Russian immigration
source close to the matter" as saying that Snowden has, in
fact, sought asylum.

15:30 GMT: Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia
would not hand over former NSA contractor Edward Snowden to the
United States, but added that if Snowden wanted to say in the
country he "must stop his work aimed at harming our American
partners".

“Russia has never extradited anyone and is not going to do so.
Same as no one has ever been extradited to Russia,” Putin
stated.

“At best,” he noted, Russia exchanged its foreign
intelligence employees detained abroad for “those who were
detained, arrested and sentenced by a court in the Russian
Federation.”

Snowden "is not a Russian agent", the president continued,
stressing that Russian intelligence services were not working
with the American whistleblower.

Putin added that Snowden should choose his final destination and
go there.

13:56 GMT: Presidents Putin and Obama have instructed
their nations’ securities services – Russia’s FSB and American
FBI respectively - to solve the situation around the Snowden
case, said the Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolay
Patrushev.

12:53 GMT: France and Germany have demanded the US account
for leaked reports of massive-scale US spying on the EU. French
President Francois Hollande called for an end to surveillance
while Germany said such “Cold War-style behavior” was
“unacceptable.”

The German government summoned the US ambassador to Germany,
Philip Murphy, to Berlin on Monday to explain the incendiary
reports. Chancellor Merkel’s spokesperson said the
government wants “trust restored."

While French President Francois Hollande said the spying should
“stop immediately.”

09:13 GMT: Juergen Trittin, German parliamentary leader
and candidate for chancellor of the Greens – the country’s third
largest party – told German television that whistleblower Edward
Snowden should be granted safe haven in Europe and not seek
asylum in “despotic” countries.

"It's painful for democrats that someone who has served
democracy and, in our view, uncovered a massive violation of
basic rights, should have to seek refuge with despots who have
problems with basic rights themselves," Trittin said.

"Someone like that should be protected," he continued.
"That counts for Mr. Snowden. He should get safe haven here in
Europe because he has done us a service by revealing a massive
attack on European citizens and companies. Germany, as part of
Europe, could do that."

The deputy did not specify which “despots” he had in mind.

Tritten’s comments come amidst reports that the National Security
Agency (NSA) monitors half a billion phone calls, emails and text
messages in Germany during an average month, far outpacing US
surveillance of any other European state.

Monday, July 1

05:25 GMT: Tokyo needs explanations from Washington
regarding alleged US bugging of Japanese embassy, Japan's Chief
Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga announced Monday. "We will
strongly call for an explanation of its veracity through
diplomatic routes," he said. On Sunday Britain’s The Guardian
published a new report based on documents provided by former NSA
contractor Edward Snowden. The report maintains that the US
National Security Agency (NSA) bugged 38 foreign embassies,
including EU missions in New York and Washington, and embassies
of NATO member countries and other principal allies including
France, Japan, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Mexico and South
Korea.

03:39 GMT: In the latest revelations of the NSA leaks
scandal, new slides have emerged thoroughly explaining the
targeting process of the US government top-secret PRISM program
deployed to spy on communication data of targets operating
abroad. The slides published by the Washington Post, detail how
PRISM tasks are issued by analysts and describes the approval
process of an individual requests. To begin with, an NSA analyst
"tasks" PRISM to gather information about a surveillance
target. The system then temporarily freezes that request
and automatically ask for an approval from a supervisor. If
the superior decides that the request possesses a "reasonable
belief" of perceived threat, then PRISM goes to work.

Sunday, June 30

20:05 GMT: The NSA has a “brand new” technology that
enables one billion cell phone calls to be redirected into its
data hoards, according to the Guardian’s Glenn Greenwald, who
told a Chicago conference that a new leak of
Snowden's documents was ‘coming soon.’

Calling it part of a “globalized system to destroy all privacy,”
and the enduring creation of a climate of fear, Greenwald
outlined the capabilities of the NSA to store every single call
while having “the capability to listen to them at any time,”
while
speaking via Skype to the Socialism Conference in Chicago, on
Friday.

18:44 GMT: Not only European citizens, but also employees
of the EU diplomatic missions in Washington and the UN were under electronic surveillance from the NSA, Der
Spiegel magazine reports citing a document obtained by
whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The German magazine claims to have taken a glance at parts of a
“top secret” document, which reveals that US National Security
Agency has placed bugs in EU offices in Washington and at the New
York‘s United Nations headquarters in order to listen to
conversations and phone calls.

18:28 GMT: WikiLeaks says there are no tensions between Julian
Assange and Ecuadorean government as it responded to media
reports claiming Assange’s role in Edward Snowden’s case "has
raised hackles" among Ecuadorean officials.

“The story is spun to be about tensions that don't exist,”
WikiLeaks posted on its Twitter account in response to the
article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal on Friday.
“Hacked/intercepted emails in relation to an NSA spying story.
Talk about missing the obvious,” the tweet read.

Saturday, June 29

17:44 GMT: More than a quarter of US Senate members have
forwarded a written address to the director of National
Intelligence, James Clapper, requesting him to release more
information on the government's secret surveillance of American
citizens’ communications, revealed by Edward Snowden.
"Reliance on secret law to conduct domestic surveillance
activities raises serious civil liberty concerns and all but
removes the public from an informed national security and civil
liberty debate," said the letter, which was signed by 21
Democrats, four Republicans and one independent senator.

Among other things, the authors of the letter wanted to know how
long the NSA has been engaged in bulk collection of communication
records and whether there have been violations of court orders
pertaining to the records.

The senators also asked for examples, in which useful
intelligence was gained from the records, and wondered if there
were plans to collect other forms of information under the
Patriot Act, enacted after the 9/11 attacks.

01:15 GMT: The US Army confirmed on Thursday that access
to The Guardian newspaper’s website has been filtered and
restricted.

Gordon Van Vleet, spokesman for the Army Network Enterprise
Technology Command, or NETCOM, said in an email to the Monterey
Herald that the Army is filtering "some access to press coverage and online
content about the NSA leaks."

The Guardian's website has posted classified information
regarding the NSA's surveillance activities, including PRISM, the
massive domestic spying program that has Internet companies
collude with military intelligence to keep tabs on Americans'
online habits.

According to staff at the Presidio of Monterey, a military
installation in California, employees told the Herald that they
were able to access the paper’s US site, www.guardiannews.com, but were
prevented from accessing articles on the NSA that redirected to
the British site.

Friday, June 28

21:15 GMT: In an exclusive interview with RT Spanish,
Ecuador’s ambassador to Russia, Patricio Chávez, says that media
reports regarding his country’s contact with Edward Snowden are
only speculations.

The ambassador spoke of Snowden’s request for political asylum
from Ecuador from that country’s embassy in Moscow on Thursday.

“We will always consider
international norms and Ecuador’s constitution” in
evaluating a petition for asylum, said Chávez, while also
stressing that no documents for travel or refugee status had been
issued by his country.

20:50 GMT: The US announced on Thursday that it is
reviewing whether to suspend favorable trade benefits with
Ecuador, only a few hours after that country’s foreign minister
preemptively renounced them. The Ecuadorian government pulled out
of its trade pact, which involves preferential customs tariff
rights, claiming it had become an instrument of “blackmail” as
relations with the US have been strained over reports the country
is considering a political asylum bid from Edward Snowden.

Despite voicing support for the whistleblower publicly, Ecuador
has denied reports that it authorized a “safepass” travel document, after
news broke yesterday that the country’s London embassy had issued
such permission.

"We confirm that the government
of Ecuador has not authorized the delivery of any safe passage or
refugee document that would allow Mr. Snowden to travel to our
country," Political Issues Minister Betty Tola told
reporters.

Ecuador had been pushing for reduced tariffs on hundreds of
millions of dollars' worth of trade, according to AP. The US is a
key importer of cut flowers, artichokes and broccoli.

On Wednesday, US President Barack Obama had said that the US
would not engage in “wheeling and dealing” in exchange for
the handing over of Snowden.

The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee said earlier on
Thursday that the US would make an effort to remove preferential
trade treatment for Ecuadorian imports if the country offered
refuge to Snowden, while Ecuadorian officials said they would
waive preferential trading rights under an expiring treaty with
the US.
16:07 GMT: The Guardian has published a new set of leaked NSA documents which
show that the Obama administration permitted the National
Security Agency to continue collecting vast amounts of records
detailing Americans’ email and internet usage for more than two
years. According to the new documents, the secretive surveillance
was authorized by President George W. Bush after the September
11, 2001 terrorist attacks and continued through 2011 under
President Barack Obama.

Anyone eager to claim that Obama stopped all email metadata
collection in 2011 must confront the actual evidence http://t.co/NKBaPLFPsM

14:55 GMT: Switzerland says it has received answers from
US on Snowden’s activities for the CIA in Geneva, Foreign
Minister Didier Burkhalter said. He added that Switzerland wants
to discuss it further, Reuters reports. On June 12 the Swiss
government formally asked the US for "clarification" on a
claim from Snowden that CIA agents in Geneva pushed a banker to
drink and drive as part of a dangerous recruitment
ploy.

13:41 GMT: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has spoken out
in support of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, calling him a
hero who acted “from his heart.”

"He's a hero to my beliefs about how the Constitution should
work,” Steve Wozniak told The Daily Beast. “I don't think
the NSA has done one thing valuable for us, in this whole 'PRISM'
regard, that couldn't have been done by following the
Constitution and doing it the old way."

12:44 GMT: Ecuador says it has not processed Snowden’s
asylum request because he has not reached any of its diplomatic
premises.

12:20 GMT: The US will not try to intercept NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden’s flight,
President Barack Obama said during his tour to Africa, rejecting
reports that America might force down a plane carrying the NSA
leaker.

11:45 GMT: US President Barack Obama said he has not
spoken to China’s President Xi Jinping or Russia’s President
Vladimir Putin about whistleblower Edward Snowden’s extradition,
adding that he “shouldn’t have to.”

09:26 GMT: Snowden hasn’t been seen on the latest flight
from Moscow to Havana, reports RT’s Irina Galushko, who is among
the many journalists hunting for the whistleblower at Moscow’s
Sheremetyevo Airport’s transit zone.

08:46 GMT: The government of Ecuador has not decided
whether or not it will grant political asylum to Snowden. “But in
any case the process of consideration of the situation is already
underway in Ecuador, so the government of this country is obliged
to protect the person seeking asylum,” Enrique Santiago Romero, a
Madrid-based lawyer and politician, told RT’s Spanish-language
sister channel.

He added that Ecuador may provide Snowden with a transit passport
to replace the American passport, which he was stripped off as
part of the extradition campaign. The transit passport would be
good for any country except the US and will allow the leaker
travel to Ecuador.

00:30 GMT: Confusion has emerged regarding Snowden’s
request for asylum in Ecuador, as Univision news, a US-based
Spanish-language broadcaster, has posted what is purportedly an
official document issued by the Ecuadorian Embassy in
London that would allow the whistleblower, who is thought to be
in limbo in a Moscow airport following Washington's cancelation
of his passport, to travel to Quito. No comment has been made as
to why the London embassy of Ecuador, despite the country having
an embassy in Moscow, would issue such a document.

The document, designated a “safe pass” for Snowden, evidently
does not constitute an official granting of asylum, while Spanish
news agency EFE cites a senior Ecuadorian official as saying that
no “passport or refugee
document” for Snowden has been issued.

Thursday, June 27

23:10 GMT: Ecuador's Embassy in Washington confirmed that
Snowden had requested political asylum in that country, while
also requesting that the US submit its own position on Snowden's
asylum bid and prospective extradition in writing.

"This request will be reviewed
responsibly, as are the many other asylum applications that
Ecuador receives each year," said Ambassador Efrain Baus,
deputy chief of mission.

"The government of Ecuador has
requested that the US submit its position regarding this
applicant in writing so that it can be taken into consideration
as part of our thorough review process," he added.

The statement also took the opportunity to address US criticism
of Ecuador, saying that it "strongly rejects recent statements made by
United States government officials containing detrimental,
untrue, and unproductive claims about Ecuador. Ecuador has signed
all the human rights instruments of the Hemisphere and is fully
committed to the rule of law and the fundamental principles of
international law."

The US State Department recently criticized a new media law in
Ecuador, saying it could "restrict freedom of the press and limit
the ability of independent media to carry out its functions as a
critical part of Ecuador's democracy."

Provisions of Ecuador’s new media law would limit privately-held
media to 33 per cent of the broadcast market, and establish a new
crime described as “media
lynching,” or the dissemination of information to reduce
the credibility of a public figure, such as the president.

Ecuador has already offered WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
asylum, assuming he can find a way out of the country's London
embassy, where he has been living for the past year.

21:14 GMT: Senator Robert Menendez, the chairman of
the Foreign Relations Committee, said on Wednesday that if
Ecuador grants Snowden asylum he will “make sure there is no
chance for renewal” of trade pacts with the South American
nation. Menendez pledged to end Ecuador’s preferential trade
access with the US, while reiterating a call on Moscow to turn
Snowden over.

19:50 GMT: Former whistleblower Wendy Addison told RT that
there are no winners in the “game of whistleblowing.”

“I think we need to ask ourselves the questions: ‘Who has he
exactly betrayed here?’ and ‘Why is it considered a betrayal when
we speak out against the employer’s contract which states that we
ought to lie and hold secrets - when our employment contract
supersedes our contract to society, our friends, and our
family?’” she said.

19:36 GMT: US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said that the
intelligence leaks by Edward Snowden were a “serious security
breach” which violated the country’s laws and damaged
national security.

"He has broken laws," Hagel said. "There was damage
done to this country by the Snowden leaks. We are assessing that
now but make no mistake - this violation of our laws was a
serious security breach."

Hagel also urged Moscow to extradite the whistleblower to the US.
"I would hope that the Russians do the right thing here and
turn Snowden over to the United States," he said during a
news conference at the Pentagon.

Snowden is reportedly still in the international transit zone of
Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. Russian President Vladimir Putin
previously stated that Snowden does not fall under any
extradition treaty and is a “free man.”

19:00 GMT: Ecuador has not granted Edward Snowden
any refugee documents, the country's Secretary for Latin America
and the Caribbean, Galo Galarza, said as quoted by EFE news
agency.

"He [Snowden] does not have a document issued by Ecuador, such
as a passport or a refugee card, as speculated," said
Galarza, as quoted by Ecuadorian television channel CT.

18:38 GMT: A number of Russian human rights activists
voiced their support for Snowden, as he
supposedly remains at a Moscow airport transit area. “It goes
without saying that Snowden acted as a Human Rights advocate, but
right now the US authorities are very resolute in their intention
to punish him. My opinion is that we should take a very precise
position – no handover,” said member of the Presidential
Human Rights Council Kirill Kabanov.

18:17 GMT: WikiLeaks says they have secured an American
attorney for Edward Snowden.

WikiLeaks has acquired a US attorney for Mr. Snowden who will
be named in due course.

15:20 GMT: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on
Wednesday said Edward Snowden has the right to “fly in any
direction” from the transit zone. “We believe that Snowden is
a free person. We have no pretensions towards him,” Lavrov
told Itar-Tass.

The minister again stressed that Snowden had never crossed the
Russian border and remains in the transit zone. Repeating
President Putin’s remark, he added that the sooner Snowden
leaves, the better it is for Russia.

14:40 GMT: The European Commission (EC) has written to
British Foreign Secretary William Hague demanding an explanation
over leaked reports that British intelligence is tapping cables
that carry global telephone and Internet traffic.

"I have sent a letter to express my concern," European
Union Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding told a briefing on
Wednesday.

"I have asked for a very urgent reply by the end of this
week."

According to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the UK Government
Communication Headquarters (GCHQ) has been engaged in a
clandestine electronic surveillance program dubbed Tempora.
Massive amounts of data are reportedly culled from online and
telephone traffic running on over 200 fiber-optic cables. The
scope of Tempora includes telephone recordings, email content,
Facebook messages and the personal internet history of users. The
information is allegedly shared with the US National Security
Agency (NSA).

Reding said she had asked Hague to clarify the extent of the
program, whether the data was passed on to other countries, if
the surveillance was limited to select cases, and if there were
any means for legal address.

14:10 GMT: Ecuador has said the United States must
“submit” it position regarding Edward Snowden to the Ecuadorian
government in writing while it considers the former National
Security Agency contractor and whistleblower’s application for
asylum.

Quito further said they would review Snowden’s request
“responsibly” and "weigh human rights obligations”
in making the decision. The country’s Foreign Minister Ricardo
Patino said earlier on Wednesday that bilateral relations with
the United States would be one factor taken into account while
considering the asylum bid.

13:30 GMT: A receptionist at the Air Express Capsule Hotel
in Terminal E of Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow told RIA-Novosti
that Snowden had in fact spent several hours in one of the
suites, “but left a long time ago.”

Several journalists attempted to make contact with Snowden during
his stay at the hotel, but were unsuccessful, the hotel employee
continued. The NSA whistleblower remains within the transit area
of the airport, though his precise location remains unknown.

"They are not flying today and not over the next three
days," the representative said. "They are not in the
system."

12:23 GMT: Russia will create a government body dedicated
to investigating violations of human rights in connection with
the NSA’s mass surveillance program Prism. Head of the Federation
Council Valentina Matviyenko said that this did not mean blocking
US companies like Google and Microsoft from Russia, but it was
necessary to understand the extent of their surveillance.

11:45 GMT: Bookmakers are accepting bets on where Snowden
is. In particular, British agency William Hill is asking, “Where
will Edward Snowden be on January 1, 2014?” Among the most
popular possibilities are Cuba, the US, Ecuador, Russia,
Venezuela, and North Korea.

Mr. Snowden is not being 'de briefed' by the FSB. He
is well and WikiLeaks' Harrison is escorting him at all times.
http://t.co/Y1EBv5GCUs

11:00 GMT: Ecuador said it could take months to
review Edward Snowden’s asylum request, and the country’s
relationship with the United States would be one of the factors
taken into account when making a final decision, Foreign Minister
Ricardo Patino said on Wednesday.

Patino likened Snowden's case to that of WikiLeaks founder
Julian Assange, who was granted asylum in the Ecuadorean Embassy
in London last August after first taking shelter there on June
19, 2012.

"It took us two months to make a decision in the case of
Assange, so do not expect us to make a decision sooner this
time," Patino told reporters during a visit to Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia.

Asked if Ecuador would shelter Snowden while considering
his asylum request, Patino said if he “goes to the embassy,
then we will make a decision.”

07:53 GMT: Snowden has to stay in the transit zone at Moscow’s
Sheremetyevo Airport and cannot buy a ticket to leave Russia
because his passport is invalid, a source connected with Snowden
told Russian news agency Interfax.

“Snowden’s American passport is void and he is not in
possession of any other document with which he can prove his
identity. For this reason, he has to stay in Sheremetyevo’s
transit zone and cannot leave Russia, cannot buy a ticket,”
the source told Interfax.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told RT that Snowden
had been given special refugee documents by the Ecuadorian
government that allowed him to leave Hong Kong. It is unclear
whether or not he can use them in his onward
journey.

07:30 GMT: Dozens of Moscow based
journalists have been camped out at Moscow’s International
Airport Sheremetyevo hoping to catch a glimpse of Snowden, who
reportedly arrived on Sunday evening from Hong Kong. Despite the
heavy media presence, not a single image has emerged of the
ever-elusive former NSA contractor.

07:24 GMT: The PRISM surveillance program mainly
focuses on access to the US biggest corporations like Skype,
Google, or iCloud, while terrorists use what a 2012 report titled
“core forums”, which are part of the Deep Web, or Undernet, RT's
Irina Galushko reported. That section isn’t indexed by search
engines nor, consequently, by PRISM.

04:55 GMT: National Security Agency Director
Keith Alexander has told his subordinates in the US that public
uproar over the surveillance programs is not aimed at them.

"The ongoing national dialogue is not about your
performance," he said, in a rare public statement. He
stressed that the NSA "has executed its national security
responsibilities with equal and full respect for civil liberties
and privacy."

He assured the workforce that senior leadership would bear the
brunt of the criticism aimed at the NSA over the data leak by
Snowden.

00:15 GMT: Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro has
indicated that his country would consider an asylum request by
Edward Snowden, though at the same time stating that no such
request had been made.

“If they proposed it, and it seems that it has been requested
of Ecuador … we would also consider it,” said Maduro.

Speaking to reporters while in Haiti, the Venezuelan leader also
took the opportunity to remark that the information leaked by
Snowden should “change the world” and that the
whistleblower should “receive humanitarian overtures
throughout the world for the information that he
provided.”

“This young man, Snowden, shocked the world by releasing this
information on the violation of civil liberties in the US,”
he added.

Wednesday, June 26

22:15 GMT: WikiLeaks is speculating that the decision to
revoke Edward Snowden’s passport may backfire, and lead to the
fugitive whistleblower remaining in Russia permanently, though
neither Putin nor Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had given any
indication thus far that his entry into Russia would be
permitted.

17:17 GMT: Amnesty International has urged the US not to
hunt down Snowden, reasoning that “no one should be prosecuted
for disclosing human rights violations by the government” and
thus protected under freedom of expression and the right to
information in the US.

Michael Bochenek, Director of Law and Policy for the
organization, made a direct connection between past
whistleblowers, such as Bradley Manning, and the type of
treatment Snowden could expect to receive by American authorities
should he be surrendered by a foreign government.

“With respect to the treatment,
we know from other cases – for e.g. from the case of Bradley
Manning – that individuals have been subjected to what, not just
we, but also UN officials have called “cruel, inhuman and
degrading treatment.” And that is yet another potential violation
of human rights law to which somebody should not be subjected.
It’s a reason not to extradite,” said Bochenek.

14:52 GMT: President Putin acknowledged Edward Snowden’s
arrival to Moscow, while stressing that the former NSA analyst
had not crossed any Russian border, and as such remained a free
individual, having committed no crime on Russian soil.

"Snowden
is a free person. The sooner he chooses his final destination,
the better it is for him and Russia,"Putin said.

There is currently no extradition treaty among Russia and the US,
and Snowden’s presence at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport was not
an indication that Russia had intervened in the matter.

“It is true that Snowden has
arrived to Moscow, and it really came as a surprise for us. He
arrived as a transit passenger, and didn't need a [Russian] visa,
or any other documents. As a transit passenger he is entitled to
buy a ticket and fly to wherever he wants,” Putin said as
he spoke to journalists in Finland on Tuesday.

08:57 GMT: Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
responded to comments from Washington regarding Snowden’s arrival
at Moscow, which is thought to be only a stop-over to his final
destination.

“Russia has nothing to do with
Snowden's movements, he chose his route himself and didn't cross
the Russian border,” said Lavrov, responding to a question
by RT’s correspondent.

On Sunday, White House National Security Council spokeswoman
Caitlin Hayden implied that the US expected Russia to expel
Snowden and deliver him into US custody, though the whistleblower
was in transit at a Moscow airport, thought to be bound to Cuba
or possibly Ecuador, and had not been granted entry into the
country through border control.

Lavrov’s statements follow strong US rhetoric threatening
consequences if Moscow does not comply with the US extradition
order against Snowden under the espionage act.

"We expect the Russian
government to look at all options available to expel Mr. Snowden
back to the US to face justice for the crimes with which he is
charged," said Hayden.

7:17 GMT: Human rights organization Amnesty International has launched an appeal, urging
the US not to prosecute anyone who discloses data on US
government human right violations.

"No one should be charged under any law for disclosing
information of human rights violations by the US government. Such
disclosures are protected under the rights to information and
freedom of expression," said Widney Brown, Senior Director of
International Law and Policy at Amnesty International.

In addition, the organization also stressed that an individual
who has an asylum bid underway cannot legally be extradited.

7:03 GMT: The US has gone from ‘model of human rights’ to
manipulator of internet rights, the mouthpiece of the Chinese
Communist Party wrote. China has struck back at the US over its allegations
that Beijing allowed NSA leaker Edward Snowden to leave Hong
Kong.

"Not only did the US authorities not give us an explanation
and apology, it instead expressed dissatisfaction at the Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region for handling things in
accordance with the law,” wrote Wang Xinjun, a researcher at
the Academy of Military Science in the People's Daily commentary.

The damning article in the overseas edition of the People’s
Daily, the party’s official newspaper, came in response to
Washington’s accusations of the “deliberate choice by the
government to release a fugitive despite a valid arrest
warrant.”

3:50 GMT: Ecuador’s foreign minister has denied any
knowledge of Snowden’s whereabouts. Ricardo Patino told reporters
Ecuador is considering granting Snowden asylum from US
authorities, but insisted he did not know the location of the
whistleblower after Snowden failed to board a flight from Russia
earlier in the day.

01:32 GMT: The pilot of the Moscow-Havana Aeroflot flight
many believed would carry Edward Snowden told RT Spanish that the
flight went on as usual, with no VIP passengers on board.

Tuesday, June 25

23:00 GMT: Following a 12-hour flight, Aeroflot flight
SU-150, which had at first been suspected of transporting Snowden
out of Moscow, landed in Havana, Cuba with no sign of the
whistleblower. The event was derided on social media as a wild
goose chase, as journalists from around the world evidently
embarked on the lengthy flight to “photograph an empty seat.”

16:55 GMT: The US says that it is “deeply
disappointed” over China’s decision to let Snowden leave Hong
Kong for Russia.

“We are deeply disappointed by the decision of the
authorities in Hong Kong to permit Snowden to flee despite a
legally valid US request to arrest him for purposes of his
extradition,” State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell
told reporters, cites Reuters. Such a decision is “detrimental”
for US-China and US-Hong-Kong relations, he added.

16:50 GMT: The US is in touch with countries through
which NSA leaker Snowden may travel or where he may decide to
stay, the White House spokesman said. Senior officials regularly
brief president Obama on the matter, Jay Carney added.

Commenting on the countries that Snowden appealed to for
help, Carney noted that “If his passion here is for press
freedom and freedom of the Internet and the like, he has chosen
unlikely protectors.”

16:40 GMT: The White House spokesperson Jay Carney
says they assume that Snowden is still in Russia. Washington expects
Moscow to look at all the options available to them to expel the
NSA leaker to the US where he faces charges for revealing secret
surveillance programs.

15:14 GMT: Ecuador is going to thoroughly analyze
the Snowden’s asylum bid and “absolutely independently” make a
decision on the matter, that they believe to be “the most
appropriate,” President Rafael Correa wrote on twitter.

15:05 GMT: Assange says Snowden received refugee
papers from Ecuador to secure him safe passage as he fled Hong
Kong on Sunday.

“In relation to Hong Kong, Snowden was supplied with a
refugee document of passage by the Ecuadorean government,”
the WikiLeaks founder told reporters. Although these documents
would not necessarily guarantee the NSA leaker would be granted
asylum in Ecuador.

14:44 GMT: WikiLeaks approached Iceland and other
countries with a formal request for asylum for Snowden, says the
organization’s spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnsson.

“It is already public that I, as an Icelandic
journalist, approached the Icelandic government with a formal
request from Mr Snowden for asylum in Iceland. Similar processes
were carried out elsewhere,” he told the media.

14:12 GMT: Edward Snowden and Wikileaks' Sarah
Harrison who is accompanying him are “safe and healthy,” Julian Assange said
during a conference call broadcast by RT.

“The current status of Mr
Snowden and Harrison is that both are healthy and safe and they
are in contact with their legal teams,” the WikiLeaks founder
said. “I cannot give further information as to their
whereabouts,” Assange added.

“Snowden is not a traitor,
he is not a spy he is a whistleblower who told the public the
important truth,” he pointed out.

13: 55 GMT: According to aviation expert Chris Yates, it
is unlikely that Snowden is on the plane en route from Moscow
to Cuba. Even if the NSA leaker did get onboard the aircraft, the
expert said the US “possibly could instruct it to land
somewhere” on American soil though highly unlikely.

“Of course the pilot himself has the possibility to divert so
he does not actually need to enter US airspace to fly down to
Havana. And that will be another possibility as well,” Yates
added.

13:40 GMT: Ecuador has been in contact with the Russian
government over Edward Snowden, and says it is considering his
asylum appeal, according to the country's Foreign Minister
Ricardo Patino speaking during a visit to Vietnam.

Patino stressed the Ecuadorian government puts human rights above
any other party’s interests, and questioned the correctness of calling Snowden a
“traitor.”

“The word 'treason' is used, but who has betrayed whom? Is it
people who've been betrayed, or certain elites?” Patino
asked.

Ecuador is also considering a US request related to Snowden,
Patino said, adding that the decision would come “in due
time.”

10:56 GMT: Flight to Havana Edward Snowden was booked on
has departed, but he is not seen either boarding or on plane,
according to RT's correspondent Egor Piskunov, who was
onboard.

10:40 GMT: US Secretary of State John Kerry says the US
would be deeply troubled if China or Russia had prior notice
of Edward Snowden’s travel plans.

10:10 GMT: A lawyer for Edward Snowden pointed out that
the former spy agency contractor had been told to flee Hong Kong
by a middleman claiming to represent the China-controlled
territory – which evidently could mean the advice was
Beijing-backed. Albert Ho, who is also a lawmaker critical of
Chinese involvement in Hong Kong’s affairs, stressed that in his
opinion the case was clearly monitored and controlled by China.

5:04 GMT: Washington has said it expects Moscow to look at
every available option to expel Snowden back to the US on charges of
espionage.

4:57 GMT: The Ecuadorian government is analyzing NSA leaker Snowden’s asylum bid as he
attempts to elude extradition to the US, said Foreign Minister
Ricardo Patino.

"We are analyzing it with a lot of responsibility,"
Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino told reporters in Hanoi, Vietnam,
where he is currently on an official visit. He added that the
decision has to do “with freedom of expression and with the
security of citizens around the world."

“We always act in the name of principles not in our own
interests. There are governments who make decisions more
according to their own interests, we don’t do that. Our main
focus is human rights,” said Patino, when asked how granting
Snowden asylum could affect Ecuador’s relations with the US.

Monday, June 24

23:02 GMT: Despite America frequently welcoming dissidents
from other countries it adopts a harsh stance against those who
highlight abuses of power at home, attorney and historian Gerald
Horne told RT.
“If you listen to the congress person appearing on Sunday’s chat
shows, they are breathing fire threatening measures just short of
a nuclear war if Mr Snowden is not speedily dispatched back to
New York or Washington,” he said.

“The United States for example routinely accepts on its
territory citizens fleeing Cuba without passports. I would also
say that the United States routinely receives on its soil those
it deems to be political dissidents, who do not have passports.
So I do not feel that Moscow’s hands are tied in regard to Mr
Snowden not having a passport.”

22:13 GMT: The US is "disappointed and disagrees with the
determination by Hong Kong authorities not to honor the US
request for the arrest of the fugitive," a US official told
Reuters. Meanwhile, the US State Department has warned
countries in the Western Hemisphere to not allow Edward Snowden
to “proceed in any further international travel,”
according to a written statement cited by Reuters.

18:20 GMT: Edward Snowden’s passport was annulled before
he left Hong Kong for Russia, a US official said on condition of
anonymity. Although the loss of his passport could complicate
Snowden’s travel plans, a country could overlook the withdrawn
passport if a senior government or airline official ordered it.

15:42 GMT: Edward Snowden has asked Ecuador for political asylum, the country’s foreign minister,
Ricardo Patino Aroca, wrote on Twitter. Ecuador’s ambassador to
Russia, Patricio Chavez, arrived at Sheremetyevo Airport to meet
Edward Snowden after his plane touched down in Moscow.

The Government of Ecuador has received an asylum request
from Edward J. #Snowden

15:30 GMT: The Icelandic government has received no
information on whether former CIA officer Edward Snowden intends
to fly to the country’s capital Reykjavik via Moscow,
Russia’s ITAR-TASS news agency reports.

The arrival of Snowden in Iceland is “highly unlikely”,
the head of the Icelandic prime minister’s press-service,
Johannes Skulason, told Interfax news agency, adding that the
country’s government has no information on the whistleblowers
whereabouts.

In accordance with Icelandic law, an individual has to be on the
country’s territory in order to apply for political asylum, and
such applications cannot be processed from even from the premises
of Iceland’s diplomatic missions.

15:00 GMT: Edward Snowden is in a terminal at Moscow’s
Sheremetyevo Airport and is waiting for a transfer flight to
Cuba, a source at the airport told Interfax News Agency.

A source from the airline Aeroflot said Snowden, who is
accompanied by WikiLeaks representative, Sarah Harrison, has
rented a suit at the airport’s «V-Express» Capsule Hotel.

Two cars with diplomatic license plates from Ecuador were also
spotted at the airport. A source told RT that a doctor from the
Ecuadorian embassy in Moscow has examined Snowden on his arrival
in the Russian capital.

11:50 GMT: Diplomats and legal advisors from WikiLeaks are
escorting Edward Snowden from Hong Kong to an unnamed
“democratic Nation” via Moscow, the group said in a
statement.

The group said Snowden had asked for its "legal expertise and
experience to secure his safety” and had chosen a safe route
for the whistleblower "for the purposes of asylum".

"The WikiLeaks legal team and I are interested in preserving
Mr Snowden's rights and protecting him as a person," Reuters
cites former Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon, legal director of
WikiLeaks and lawyer for the group's founder Julian Assange, as
saying.

"What is being done to Mr Snowden and to Mr Julian Assange -
for making or facilitating disclosures in the public interest -
is an assault against the people."

8:45 GMT:

FLASH: Mr. Snowden is currently over Russian airspace
accompanied by WikiLeaks legal advisors.

7:47 GMT: Edward Snowden has left Hong Kong of his own
volition for a “third country”, authorities from the city state
said.

The whistleblower’s decision to leave the country comes one day
after a senior US official told the Washington Post: "If Hong
Kong doesn't act soon, it will complicate our bilateral relations
and raise questions about Hong Kong's commitment to the rule of
law."

Authorities from the Hong Kong special administrative region
[HKSAR] issued a statement saying Snowden had been allowed to
leave the country as they had yet to receive sufficient
information necessary to process a provisional warrant or arrest
and thus had no legal basis to keep him from leaving the
country.

"The HKSAR government has already informed the US government
of Mr Snowden's departure,” the statement continued.

Sunday, June 23

18:14 GMT: The South China Morning Post said whistleblower
Edward Snowden, who has been charged with espionage by the US,
was not in police custody in Hong Kong, as had been reported
elsewhere.

"Contrary to some reports, the former CIA analyst has not been
detained, is not under police protection, but is in a 'safe
place' in Hong Kong," the paper said.

16:30 GMT: A White House petition demanding that Snowden be
issued a full pardon has reached over 100,000 signatures in less
than two weeks, meaning the US government is obliged to review
and respond to its requests.
16:27 GMT: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has said that the
Obama administration charging NSA leaker Edward Snowden and
requesting his arrest is a move to “intimidate any
country” that may wish to protect the whistleblower.

“The charging of Edward Snowden is intended to intimidate any
country that might be considering standing up for his
rights,” reads a post on Wikileaks webpage on behalf of
Assange after his address from the Ecuadorian embassy in London was
canceled due to security concerns.

Commenting on Assange’s speech, geopolitical analyst and founder
of stopimperialism.com Eric Draitser has told RT that neither the
US nor the UK will “change their policies” and “stop
spying on the world”.

“As we know the United States, the UK and the other powers in
the West have “spent billions of dollars creating the
infrastructure of surveillance states,” he said.

13:07 GMT: Hong Kong Police Commissioner Andy Tsang has
said that the normal legal process will be observed following the
US filing criminal charges and requesting the arrest of Snowden.

“All foreign citizens must comply with Hong Kong law,” he
said, adding that the police would act on the request once it is
received.

He declined to comment on whether Snowden was in a police safe
house, a rumor mentioned by one Hong Kong newspaper

Saturday, June 22

23:50 GMT: The United States government has released the
indictment of Edward Snowden, charging him with espionage, among
other crimes. Read RT's full coverage here.

Nick Pickles of the UK's Big Brother Watch has released a
statement condemning GCHQ's collection of information. "We
need a wholesale review of surveillance law, including the fact
that there is absolutely no judicial process within the current
system and the people making these decisions are able to hide in
the shadows rather than face public scrutiny," he said.

16:40 GMT: The British spy agency GCHQ has access to the
global network of communications, storing calls, Facebook posts
and internet histories – and shares this data with the NSA,
Edward Snowden has revealed to the Guardian in a new
leak.

Friday, June 21

19:50 GMT: USIS, the company that conducted the background
check on Snowden in 2011 is now under investigation for
"systematically" failing to do its job, Senator Claire
McCaskill has said.

Thursday, June 20

11:33 GMT: President Obama has said that surveillance of
phone records and Internet activity helped avert at least 50
terror attacks, and was justified because "Lives have been
saved." He added that those threats did not just target the US,
but also other countries, including Germany. Obama’s statement
was in response to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s argument
that government monitoring of Internet communications needed to
remain within proper limits.

"I made clear that although we do see the need for gathering
information, the topic of proportionality is always an important
one and the free democratic order is based on people feeling
safe," Merkel said.

Speaking at a joint press conference with German Chancellor
Angela Merkel, Obama maintained that he was confident the US has
struck an appropriate balance between intelligence-gathering and
civil liberties. Earlier the head of the National Security Agency also said that more than 50
potential terrorist plots across the globe were thwarted thanks
to the controversial surveillance programs.

Wednesday, June 19

15:30 GMT: Alexander was asked to weigh in on Edward
Snowden’s remark from earlier this week in which he said the NSA
provides Congress with special immunity in regards to the
surveillance programs. Alexander responded that he has “no
idea” of what the leaker was referring to.

“I’m not sure I understand the context of the special
immunity. We treat you with special respect,” said Alexander.

15:10 GMT: Gen. Alexander says the NSA does not have the
authority nor the technology to eavesdrop on the emails and phone
calls of Americans under the Section 512 and Section 702
programs.

15:07 GMT: Bob Litt, a general counsel for the Director of
National Intelligence, testified that "The leaks from this
investigation are not damaging" and suggested it could be months
before the US finds out if the documents released by Edward
Snowden will have a detrimental effect on the country.

15:00 GMT:Gen. Alexander dismisses allegations that
the NSA has unfettered access to all communications and
said, "US companies are compelled to provide these records
by US law using methods that are in strict compliance with that
law."

14:54 GMT:Of the more than 50 potential terrorist
attacks thwarted by the NSA, over 50 involved overseas targets.
Only 10 were plotted to occur within the US, and one involved a
plan to bomb the New York Stock Exchange.

14:43 GMT:Gen. Keith Alexander, the head of
the NSA, is testifying on Capitol Hill this morning. He said that
his agency will soon shed more light on the terrorist attacks it
thwarted using the controversial surveillance programs, and that
the number of events exceeds 50. Mirroring what FBI Director
Robert Mueller said days earlier, Alexander suggested that the
terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 could have likely been
prevented if these systems were in place.

Tuesday, June 18

17:15 GMT: Answering the question about previous
whistleblowers and whether their choices influenced Snowden, he
replied that “Binney, Drake, Kiriakou, and Manning are all
examples of how overly-harsh responses to public-interest
whistle-blowing only escalate the scale, scope, and skill
involved in future disclosures."

He notes that the “draconian responses” instead help to
“build better whistleblowers.”

“If the Obama administration responds with an even harsher
hand against me, they can be assured that they'll soon find
themselves facing an equally harsh public
response.”

16:55 GMT:“I'm being called a traitor by men like
former Vice President Dick Cheney. This is a man who gave us the
warrantless wiretapping scheme as a kind of atrocity warm-up on
the way to deceitfully engineering a conflict that has killed
over 4,400 and maimed nearly 32,000 Americans, as well as leaving
over 100,000 Iraqis dead. Being called a traitor by Dick Cheney
is the highest honor you can give an American, and the more
panicked talk we hear from people like him, Feinstein, and King,
the better off we all are. If they had taught a class on how to
be the kind of citizen Dick Cheney worries about, I would have
finished high school,” said the whistleblower to the Guardian
newspaper.

16:41 GMT: An Associated Press journalist reminded in her
question that US officials claim terrorists are already altering
TTPs because of Snowden’s leaks, calling him a traitor.

Snowden answers that journalists should ask themselves certain
questions like “since these programs began operation shortly
after September 11th, how many terrorist attacks were prevented
SOLELY by information derived from this suspicion less
surveillance that could not be gained via any other source? Then
ask how many individual communications were ingested to achieve
that, and ask yourself if it was worth it. Bathtub falls and
police officers kill more Americans than terrorism, yet we've
been asked to sacrifice our most sacred rights for fear of
falling victim to it.”

16:25 GMT: When the whistleblower was asked about
providing classified US information to the Chinese or other
governments in exchange for asylum, Snowden answered that this
allegation was just a ‘predictable’ reaction of the US
media.

“This is a predictable smear that I anticipated before going
public, as the US media has a knee-jerk "RED CHINA!" reaction to
anything involving HK or the PRC, and is intended to distract
from the issue of US government misconduct. Ask yourself: if I
were a Chinese spy, why wouldn't I have flown directly into
Beijing? I could be living in a palace petting a phoenix by
now”.

16:15 GMT: Snowden was asked to express his opinion on the
conduct of companies like Google and Facebook, that provided
information which the NSA used in its surveillance program. He
answered that he thought that the companies are “legally
compelled to comply and maintain their silence in regard to
specifics of the program, but that does not comply them from
ethical obligation. If for example Facebook, Google, Microsoft,
and Apple refused to provide this cooperation with the
Intelligence Community, what do you think the government would
do? Shut them down?”

15:50 GMT: The whistleblower answers a question as to how
in general direct NSA's access works and promises to give more
details later on.

“...if an NSA, FBI, CIA, DIA, etc analyst has access to query
raw SIGINT databases, they can enter and get results for anything
they want. Phone number, email, user ID, cell phone handset ID
(IMEI), and so on - it's all the same. The restrictions against
this are policy based, not technically based, and can change at
any time."

He adds that “audits are cursory, incomplete, and easily
fooled by fake justifications. For at least GCHQ, the number of
audited queries is only 5 percent of those performed.”

15:25 GMT: Concerning the question why Snowden waited to
release the documents as he wanted to tell the world about
the NSA programs since before Obama became president, he answered
that Obama gave him hope for change.

“Unfortunately, shortly after assuming power, he closed the
door on investigating systemic violations of law, deepened and
expanded several abusive programs, and refused to spend the
political capital to end the kind of human rights violations like
we see in Guantanamo, where men still sit without
charge.”

15:05 GMT: The first two questions in the live Q&A
with Snowden were asked by the Guardian journalist Glenn
Greenwald about Snowden’s asylum choice and his NSA
leaks.

Snowden answered that he chose to leave the US as the government
“immediately and predictably destroyed any possibility of a
fair trial at home, openly declaring me guilty of treason and
that the disclosure of secret, criminal, and even
unconstitutional acts is an unforgivable crime.”

He added that it cannot be called ‘justice’ as he “did
not reveal any US operations against legitimate military targets.
I pointed out where the NSA has hacked civilian infrastructure
such as universities, hospitals, and private businesses because
it is dangerous.”

14:00 GMT:

#AskSnowden:
Did actions of Assange/Manning & their subsequent
treatment, inspire or deter you in coming to your own decision?
@ggreenwald

13:00 GMT: Starting from 15:00 GMT Snowden will be
answering internet users’ questions at The Guardian website. The
live chat is subject to his security concerns, as well as his
access to a secure web connection, the paper notes. It also asked
users to be patient waiting for Snowden to answer their
questions. The full transcript of the Q&A will be later
published on The Guardian’s site.

The paper has also revealed that a UK intelligence agency, GCHQ,
monitored foreign politicians and intercepted their emails during
the London summit. Some delegates were tricked into using
internet cafes which had been set up by UK intelligence agencies
to read their email traffic.

Sunday, June 16

13:04 GMT: Swiss President Ueli Maurer said on Sunday that
he doubted Snowden’s claims about his activities in Geneva, when
he worked there as a CIA employee in 2007-2009. The NSA leaker
told the Guardian newspaper that CIA agents intentionally got a
Swiss banker drunk and then encouraged him to drive so he could
intervene when he was arrested. Later, they recruited the banker,
Snowden stated.

“It does not seem to me that it is likely that this incident
played out as it has been described by Snowden and by the
media,” Maurer said, reports Reuters, citing a local
newspaper. “This would mean that the CIA successfully bribed
the Geneva police and judiciary. With all due respect, I just
can't imagine it.” SonntagsBlick quoted him as saying.

Maurer added that he would back a criminal probe against Snowden,
if prosecutors called for it.

06:38 GMT: An unclassified government document obtained by
Reuters claims that only a small proportion of the troves of data
collated by the NSA monitoring program used specific phone
numbers. The report says the “metadata” does not identify
telephone subscribers or email accounts and as such seeks to
argue that the practice is legal. Moreover, it stipulates that
the information is subject to strict guidelines that ensure
personal privacy is not violated.

The paper appears to echo President Barack Obama’s argument that
such practices are necessary and justified to conserve the safety
of the American people, arguing "dozens of potential terrorist
plots [exist] here in the homeland and in more than 20 countries
around the world."

Saturday, June 15

02:25 GMT:Facebook announced Friday that “only a
tiny fraction of one per cent” of the company’s users were
subjected to requests by the National Security Agency. Citing
inaccurate reporting and unnecessary levels of government secrecy
as his reason to disclose the true number, Ted Ullyot, Facebook’s
general Counsel, wrote online that the social networking giant
“frequently rejects such requests outright.”

“Since this story was first reported, we’ve been in
discussions with US national security authorities urging them to
allow more transparency and flexibility around national
security-related orders we are required to comply with,”
Ullyot wrote. "We’re please that as a result of our
discussions, we can now include in a transparency report all US
national security-related requests (including FISA as well as
National Security Letters) – which until now no company has been
permitted to do.”

He wrote that government data requests, which in the six months
ending on December 31, 2012, totaled between 9,000 and 10,000,
while being careful to note that many inquiries come from local
police agencies investigating runaways, assault, and other
low-level crimes.

“With more than 1.1 billion monthly active users worldwide,
this means that a tiny fraction of one percent of our user
accounts were the subject of any kind of U.S. state, local, or
federal U.S. government request (including criminal and national
security-related requests) in the past six months. We hope this
helps put into perspective the numbers involved, and lays to rest
some of the hyperbolic and false assertions in some recent press
accounts about the frequency and scope of the data requests that
we receive.”

19:52 GMT: The 'Stand with Edward Snowden' petition has
collected 847,222 digital signatures. The aim is to collect 1
million voices, within 48hrs, calling on Obama to “crack down
on PRISM, not Snowden”. “It will send a powerful statement
that he should be treated like the brave whistleblower that he
is,” reads the petition.

09:21 GMT: The UK has released an alert to all airlines
around the world, asking them not to board ex-CIA staffer
whistleblower Edward Snowden on UK flights, AP reported. The
alert was issued on Home Office letterhead, which specified that
"the individual is highly likely to be refused entry to the
UK."

Friday, June 14

23:00 GMT: Intelligence officials hot on the trail of
Edward Snowden are handling the case as a potential foreign
espionage matter, apparently rattled after the leaker’s comments
to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post regarding US hacking of
computers in China.

According to ABC News, asked whether Snowden was considered at
risk of defecting to China a senior official familiar with the
ongoing case responded "I think
there is a real concern about that."

Intelligence officials evidently considered Snowden’s allegations
of spying on China as much of a betrayal as his alleged leaking
of highly classified files on the NSA's vast surveillance
program.

Jeremy Bash, former CIA and Pentagon Chief of Staff, told ABC
News defection or cooperation with a foreign nation such as China
is now a top concern.

"He could do tremendous damage.
I think if a foreign government learned everything that was in
Edward Snowden's brain, they would have a good window into the
way we collect signals intelligence… He had access to highly
classified information," said Bash.

20:24 GMT: Reuters is reporting that NSA Director Keith
Alexander will release on Monday the list of attacks that the US
has thwarted through the use of surveillance.

17:46 GMT: According to the Los Angeles Times, Edward
Snowden smuggled highly classified documents out of a NSA
facility in Hawaii using a portable thumb drive.

Investigators “know how many documents he downloaded and what
server he took them from,” an official told the Times on
condition of anonymity.

Thumb drives and similar portable storage devices have been
banned by the Department of Defense and NSA since 2008.

15:56 GMT: Mueller continues to field questions from
Congress, defending the NSA surveillance programs and dismissing
allegations of illegality. “These programs have been conducted
in accordance with the Constitution and the laws of the United
States,” Mueller said.

14:37 GMT: Robert Mueller, the director of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, is testifying this morning on Capitol
Hill. In regards to the NSA leaks, Mueller said, “These
disclosures have caused significant harm to our nation and to our
safety,” and that the FBI and Department of Justice are
taking “all necessary steps to hold the person
responsible.”

02:32 GMT: A series of posts to online forums under the
name 'TheTrueHOOHA' have been attributed to Snowden. The forum
posts, which were retrieved from the technology and news website
ArsTechnica, span a period of ten years, and provide some clues
into the NSA leaker’s mindset.

Though many of the comments are on casual subjects, such as a
leaked beta for a game or advice on work-related programming
tasks, they also point to a preoccupation with covering his own
online tracks. In 2003, for example, Snowden asked the forum for
advice on fairly sophisticated strengthening of his online
anonymity, and in 2009 he sought help in creating a virtual,
secure machine using a single CD.

In all, the posts seem to illustrate fairly typical interests for
an IT employee and an online gamer, though there are some
indications of skepticism of state surveillance.

“It really concerns me how little this sort of corporate
behavior bothers those outside of technology circles. Society
really seems to have developed an unquestioning obedience towards
spooky types,” writes Snowden in one post.

Thursday, June 13

23:30 GMT: About one in three Americans believe that
Snowden is a “patriot”
and should not be prosecuted, according to results compiled by a
Reuters/Ipsos poll on Wednesday.

Twenty three per cent of poll respondents believe the former NSA
contractor is a traitor to the US, while 31 per cent think that
his leaking classified information makes him a patriot. The
remaining 46 per cent of those surveyed were undecided.
Meanwhile, 25 per cent of respondents thought that Snowden should
be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

19:37 GMT:Alexander was asked if NSA leaker Edward
Snowden’s claims that he could hack into any phone call within
the US, to which he responded, “False. I know of no way to
do that.”

18:53 GMT:Gen. Alexander defended the NSA’s surveillance programs by saying
there are “dozens of terrorist events” on US soil and
abroad that have been prevented by his agency’s tactics. He also
said the NSA will release more solid figures to the public likely
within a week.

18:23 GMT: Gen. Keith Alexander, the head of the NSA
and the US Cyber Command, testified before the Senate
Appropriations defense subcommittee but declined to discuss the
surveillance scandal during his opening remarks. Instead,
Alexander concentrated on the United States’ cyber capabilities
and said the emerging threats of espionage and hacking continue
to pose problems to America’s computer infrastructure. “We
have to create a defensible architecture,” Alexander said,
adding that while he could not be more proud of his departments’
work, current shortcoming prevent the US from being fully
prepared to fight off cyberattacks. “We need to be able
to see what’s going on in cyberspace so that we can work with the
industry and amongst ourselves,” said Alexander, “because
getting information after an attack only allows us to police it
up. We have to have some way of stopping it before it goes on, so
we need to be able to see it.”

Wednesday, June 12

22:50 GMT: The FBI’s use of a secret and controversial
part of the Patriot Act has increased by more than 1,000 per cent
under since President Obama assumed office from his predecessor,
George W. Bush. NBC News learned that in 2012 alone the bureau
filed 212 requests under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which
allows the federal government to obtain nearly all domestic
communication records from a business and log them for future
analysis. The blockbuster revelation that the National Security
Agency requested millions of records from Verizon Wireless
reflects just a single Section 215 request.

18:43 GMT:Google has asked the Department of
Justice for permission to go public with the total number of
national security information requests it has received from the
federal government.

“Assertions in the press that our compliance with these
requests gives the US government unfettered access to our users’
data are simply untrue,” Google’s chief legal officer wrote
in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director
Robert Mueller published Tuesday. “However, government
nondisclosure obligations regarding the number of FISA national
security requests that Google receives, as well as the number of
accounts covered by those requests, fuel that
speculation.”

Earlier this year, Google noted in a transparency report
that the government filed between 0 and 999 requests for user
data annually since 2009 by using so-called National Security
Letters, but declined to publish solid numbers. Under the
Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Federal Bureau of
Information can seek “the name, address, length of service and
local and long distance toll billing records” of a subscriber to
an Internet or phone company, such as Google.

17:40 GMT: 86 civil liberties organizations and Internet
companies – including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Reddit,
Mozilla, FreedomWorks, and the American Civil Liberties Union
demanded from Congress to stop unchecked domestic surveillance.
In an open letter to lawmakers, the groups call for a
congressional investigatory committee, legal reforms and demand
holding accountable public officials responsible for the illegal
surveillance.

16:00 GMT: Putin commented on the the NSA surveillance program
during a visit to the RT studios. “Such methods are in demand.
But you can’t just listen to the phone call in Russia; you need a
special order from court. This is how this should be done in
civilized society while tackling terrorism with the use of any
technical means. If it is in the framework of the law, then
it’s okay. If not it is unacceptable,”he said.

14:36 GMT: The defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton has
confirmed in a statement that Edward Snowden was an employee in
their Hawaii team. Snowden worked in the firm “for less than
three months,” and was “terminated June 10, 2013 for
violations of the firm’s code of ethics and firm policy,” the
statement added.

Booz Allen has not confirmed or denied if Snowden was behind the
leak of the classified information, saying an investigation is
now in progress.

The contractor described the new on the leak as
“shocking,” and said that, if true, it is “a grave
violation of the code of conduct and core values” of the
firm.

07:49 GMT: Watch Julian Assange LIVE on RT at 15:00 GMT,
as the founder of WikiLeaks discusses one of history’s biggest whistleblowers
Edward Snowden, who has revealed the US NSA’s PRISM program.

06:38 GMT: US President Barack Obama is facing a backlash
against US surveillance operations. On Monday Congress was
divided, with some members calling for the immediate extradition
of Edward Snowden from Hong Kong, while others questioned if US
tactics have gone too far.

06:13 GMT: There will be more ‘significant information’
exposed in the near future, AP cites The
Guardian’s journalist Glenn Greenwald, who revealed classified US
surveillance programs leaked by an American defense contractor.

05:57 GMT: Whistleblower Edward Snowden was last seen
getting checking out of his hotel in Hong Kong on Monday around
noon, Reuters cites witnesses as saying. His current whereabouts
remain unknown.

05:20 GMT: A majority of Americans support the US
government’s programs that keep track of telephone records to
fight terrorism, according to a Washington Post-Pew Research
Center poll. A total of 56 per cent of Americans said it was
"acceptable" for the National Security Agency to access the
telephone records of millions of Americans through secret court
orders, while 41 per cent said it was not.

04:57 GMT: Sales of George Orwell’s ’1984′ novel are up by
177 per cent on Amazon, according to the website. The book
celebrated its 60th anniversary on June 6 in the midst of
real-world NSA leak and government surveillance stories.

03:50 GMT US officials maintain that the surveillance
program details leaked by Snowden all fall within the legal
framework of the Patriot Act and counterterrorism activities.
Michael Ratner, a lawyer representing Wikileaks and Julian
Assange in the US, disagree.

“The legal part is no point at
all, the legal part has to do with laws passed in the US after
9/11, in particular courts that are essentially hand-picked, and
a president who is apparently willing to approve this massive
surveillance scheme. You can have unjust laws, that’s what we
have under surveillance,” Ratner tells RT.

"On the broader issue, does it
really prevent anything? Well, I think they’re going to use that
as an excuse. In fact terrorism is not the biggest problem in the
United States. The uncontrolled use of guns in the United States,
many more people -- ten times, a hundred times the number of
people are killed by that. I think that terrorism is used as an
excuse to be able to surveil and keep tabs on every single
American to prevent … progressive government. This is not about
our safety, not at all,” he adds.

03:20 GMT:Denver Nicks, an investigative journalist,
admitted during an interview with RT that it is a small wonder,
considering the number of people granted access to the documents
Snowden leaked, that similar disclosures have never been
published before. The importance of his leak could potentially
influence other NSA employees to publish equally damning
documents.

“One wonders if more leaks are coming amid this tremendous
crackdown on leaks, where the Obama administration is prosecuting
more people for leaking state secrets than all of the previous
administrations combined,” he said.

The leak also coincides with the Bradley Manning court-martial, a
timing not lost on Nicks or other journalists hoping for
increased transparency from the US government.

“I haven’t spoken to Glenn Greenwald or Laura Poitras about
this but I would suspect they worked it out to break this story
in The Guardian concurrent with Bradley Manning’s court-martial,
because it certainly makes a powerful statement,” Nicks said.
“I wonder if, in the court of public opinion, people will
start to see past this curtain of secrecy and wonder just how
much more there is they don’t know.”

01:12 GMT: Russian authorities have promised to join the
ranks of those willing to consider giving Snowden political
asylum, if he files a formal request – according to the Russian
business paper ‘Kommersant’ citing a Kremlin spokesman on
Tuesday. “If we receive such a request, we will consider
it,” Dmitry Peskov was quoted.

00:15 GMT: 68 per cent of respondents to a poll by
American firm Rasmussen Reports this week said they believed the
government is currently eavesdropping on their communications.
The poll, conducted on the heels of President Obama’s claims that
PRISM does not target ordinary Americans, shows that a majority
think they are in fact being spied on.

“If people can’t trust not only
the executive branch but also don’t trust Congress and don’t
trust federal judges to make sure that we’re abiding by the
Constitution with due process and rule of law, then we’re going
to have some problems here,” said Obama.

Meanwhile, a separate poll conducted by Pew indicates that a
slight majority of the American public believes that the NSA’s
telephone surveillance is an “acceptable way for the government to
investigate terrorism.” A large plurality disagreed.

Of 1,004 adults polled between June 6 and 9, 56 per cent stated
that government monitoring of telephone records is acceptable,
while 41 per cent believe it is not. Interestingly, approval of
government monitoring of email and online activities is lower,
with 45 per cent approving and 52 per cent finding it
unacceptable.

Tuesday, June 11

23:30 GMT: Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on Monday
called Snowden’s NSA leaks an “act of treason,” and does not
recognize Edward Snowden as a hero or whistleblower.

“He violated the oath, he
violated the law. It's treason,” said Feinstein, in
reference to the former National Security Agency employee’s
divulgence of internal documents.

On Sunday, Feinstein did, however, state that she would be open
to congressional inquiries into the NSA programs, which includes
PRISM.

“I’m open to doing a hearing
every month, if that’s necessary,” she told ABC News.

“Here’s the rub: the instances
where this has produced good — has disrupted plots, prevented
terrorist attacks, is all classified, that’s what’s so hard about
this,” added Feinstein, who is the current Chairman of the
United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

21:15 GMT: Laura Poitras, the co-author of the Washington
Post’s breaking report on Snowden’s whistleblowing, told Salon
that she is currently filming “the story behind the story” in Hong
Kong along with the co-author of The Guardian’s story, Glenn
Greenwald. The documentary filmmaker plans to feature Snowden as
part of her forthcoming documentary on whistleblowers and leaks.

Poitras elaborated to Salon how Snowden initially contacted her
anonymously in January because she had herself been targeted at a
US border as an individual who had been “selected” – a term Snowden used to
describe a person of interest. According to Poitras, that meant
that she was subject to a deep level of surveillance, including
her movements, her personal relationships with others, and even
her purchases.

Poitras further explained why Snowden chose not to go to The New
York Times with the bombshell-worthy documents.

“I can say from conversations I
had with him after that, I think he had a suspicion of mainstream
media. And particularly what happened with The New York Times and
the warrantless wiretapping story, which as we know was shelved
for a year. So he expressed that to me but I think also in his
choices of who he contacted. I didn’t know he was reaching out to
Glenn at that point,” says Poitras.

Asked whether she was afraid of retaliation following the
breaking reports on the NSA’s surveillance program, Poitras told
Salon she did not necessarily expect her situation to change.

“You know what? I’m not. I’ve
been harassed for a long time, I wouldn’t be surprised if that
continues.”

20:30 GMT: Interestingly, the Associated Press standards
editor, Tom Kent, directed staff on Monday to describe Edward
Snowden as a “source” or “leaker,” rather than a “whistleblower,”
which has been the designation used by The Guardian and other
news organizations.

"A better term to use on our own is 'leakers,'" Kent wrote in an
internal memo, obtained by The Huffington Post.

"Or, in our general effort to avoid labels and instead describe
behavior, we can simply write what they did: they leaked or
exposed or revealed classified information,” added Kent.

The “whistleblower” designation implies an individual who exposes
government improprieties or wrongdoing, such as corruption or
illegality of some sort. It remains to be seen whether the AP may
come back to this issue, though it provides an interesting look
into what surely are ongoing conversations regarding Snowden’s
actions in newsrooms throughout the US.

19:37 GMT: The “Pardon Edward Snowden” petition on the White
House's We The People website has collected more than 23,000
digital signatures in less than 24 hours.

The petition needs to collect 100,000 digital signatures before
July 9 in order to get an official response.

19:23 GMT: With Julian Assange holed up in the Ecuadorian
embassy in London and Bradley Manning being court-martialed in
the US, the general public must step up and protect Edward
Snowden from prosecution by the US authorities, investigative
journalist Tony Gosling told RT.

18:08 GMT:Trollthensa website is urging internet users in the
US to take part in action aimed at jamming the NSA's scanners.

“If millions of us, all at the same exact time, call or email
someone with our keywords-of-terror-filled script. We can give
our nation’s impressive surveillance apparatus the kind of test
it deserves. They say they don’t read or listen to the contents
of our messages. Why not test it out? It'll be fun,” the text
on the website said.

The Mass Call/Email is scheduled for 7:00 PM EST on Wednesday,
June 12.

17:39 GMT: White House Press Secretary, Jay Carney, said that
the US administration doesn’t believe that the NSA leak scandal
will overshadow Barack Obama’s trip to Europe next week,
stressing that the balance between privacy and security is "an
absolutely appropriate topic for debate."

17:00 GMT: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he has
been in contact with Edward Snowden, saying the NSA contractor
was a prime example of what his organization is attempting to do.

“This organization and people like it and our values are
forming a new body politic and people like Edward Snowden are
part of that phenomena,” Assange said in a telephone
interview with The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Emma
Alberici on Monday from the Ecuadorian embassy in
London.

“We run the danger here of the West more broadly drifting into
a state where there are two systems. There’s one law for the
average person and there’s another law if you’re inside the
national intelligence complex. You can intercept whoever you
want, you’re complete unaccountable for your actions, there’s no
judicial review,” he continued. “I don’t believe that
Americans find that acceptable. Snowden clearly didn’t find that
acceptable and he was even someone in the system.”

16:45 GMT: A crowd-funding campaign to help whistleblower,
Edward Snowden, pay his legal fees and other costs has started on
the Crowdtilt website, raising over $4,700 and is aiming for
$15,000.
“We should set a precedent by rewarding this type of extremely
courageous behavior," Dwight Crow, Facebook employee from San
Francisco's bay area, who’s behind the initiative,
said.

Snowden has almost maxed out his credit cards. Is there a
#Bitcoins4Snowden
campaign yet?

16:01 GMT: A petition on the White House's We The People
website titled "Pardon Edward Snowden" has collected more
than 15,100 digital signatures, calling on the US government to
grant the whistleblower "full, free, and absolute pardon for
any crimes he has committed or may have committed related to
blowing the whistle on secret NSA surveillance programs."

Another petition on Change.org, which urged Iceland
to grant Snowden a political asylum, has so far collected 50
digital signatures.

15:56 GMT: British Foreign Secretary William Hague denied
claims that the country’s security agencies had circumvented UK
law by using information gathered on British citizens through the
secret US spy program PRISM.

"This accusation is baseless," Hague told parliament.
"Any data obtained by us from the United States involving UK
nationals is subject to proper UK statutory controls and
safeguards."

“Our agencies practice and uphold UK law at all times, even when
dealing with information from outside the United Kingdom,” he
added.

15:26 GMT: A receptionist at the Honk Kong’s Mira Hotel told
the Washington Post newspaper that a guest named, Edward Snowden,
has been staying there, but checked out on Monday.
14:31 GMT: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has
cancelled a planned photo op with Hong Kong chief executive Leung
Chun-ying.

"It would have been a circus, so we decided to catch up with
him another time," a mayoral spokesperson told the Guardian,
as Hong Kong is where whistleblower Edward Snowden fled.

Instead of criticizing Snowden for trying to stay out of US
prisons, we should ask why whistleblowers in the US feel
compelled to flee

14:00 GMT: On Monday, Regina Ip, formally Hong Kong’s top
official overseeing security, told reporters it would be in
Snowden’s “best interest to leave Hong Kong,” citing an
extradition treaty with the United States that was signed in
1996.

“He won’t find Hong Kong a safe harbor,” Ip said.
“Those agreements have been enforced for more than 10 years.
If the US submits a request, we would act in accordance with the
law.”

However, Ip, a pro-Beijing lawmaker, was unable to confirm
whether the government had received an extradition request,
adding: "I doubt it will happen so quickly."

The US Consulate in Hong Kong has thus far forwarded all
questions regarding the case to the Justice Department in
Washington. The Justice Department has only stated that it is in
the initial stages of an investigation regarding the leak of
government programs to monitor telephone and Internet
communications.
09:20 GMT: Iceland’s parliament member and privacy rights
campaigner, Birgitta Jonsdottir, has offered Edward Snowden
assistance in getting asylum in the Nordic island state.

In a joint statement with the executive director of Icelandic
Modern Media Initiative, Smari McCarthy, she stressed that she
felt duty-bound to help and advise the 29-year-old whistleblower.
"Whereas Icelandic IMMI is based in Iceland, and has worked on
protections of privacy, furtherance of government transparency,
and the protection of whistleblowers, we feel it is our duty to
offer to assist and advise Mr. Snowden to the greatest of our
ability,” the statement said.

08:18 GMT: The revelations of Edward Snowden have been
condemned by US politicians and intelligence chiefs, who
threatened the whistlebower with prosecution.

"Any person who has a security clearance knows that he or she
has an obligation to protect classified information and abide by
the law," James Clapper, spokesman for the director of US
national intelligence, is cited by the Guardian.

"If Edward Snowden did in fact leak the NSA data as he claims,
the United States government must prosecute him to the fullest
extent of the law and begin extradition proceedings at the
earliest date," Peter King, chairman of the House homeland
security subcommittee, stressed.

04:00 GMT: Edward Snowden, the NSA PRISM Whistleblower,
Edward Snowden, the source behind the Guardian's NSA files talks
to Glenn Greenwald in Hong Kong about his motives for the biggest
intelligence leak in a generation.

Monday, June 10

On Sunday, the Guardian newspaper revealed the source behind its
series of publications on the US National Security Agency, which
became one the biggest leaks in US political history.

Former CIA contractor, Edward Snowden, said that making the truth
public was “a matter of principle” and he had no intention
to hide his identity. The 29-year-old then left America for Hong
Kong fearing prosecution by US authorities.

The top-secret documents, Snowden leaked to the journalists,
proved the existence of an extensive US National Security
Agency’s spying program called PRISM, which was designed to
collect information about digital communications, allowing
real-time online surveillance of US citizens. The intelligence
was also revealed to be collected by and shared with other
governments.